Akh
by LeDiz
Summary: An interjection between the canon and all those postcanon, solidYami and Bakura stories out there. It's the living's duty to help the dead move on, but if the dead don't think they should...
1. The End

**Akh**

_**Chapter One – The End**_

**DISCLAIMER:** Call this a prologue to… well, pretty much any story out there with a solid Yami and Bakura. While there aren't any great action or adventure scenes, this story kinda helps me, at least, justify writing post-canon stories where Yami and Bakura are still around and doing stuff. Hopefully. Maybe. We'll see.

* * *

Egypt had turned dark and cold with the night, and their hotel looked out on the unlit desert, leaving the window pitch black with shades of blue. Yuugi gazed out at it for a moment, then sighed, turning to meet Anzu's gaze. "We shouldn't be here. We should be on the Nile already."

She rolled her eyes, folding her arms over her chest with an understanding smile. "Egypt will still be here tomorrow. There's no hurry, y'know."

He shrugged, looking down at his boots, and Anzu flinched, suddenly realising that she could be wrong. She wanted the other Yuugi (_Atemu_, his name was Atemu) to stay as long as possible, but really, when you thought about it, he had been waiting for this for three thousand years…

She hesitated, then ducked her head to look at Yuugi from under her hair. "Um… Ishizu-san said that we'll be going to the king's final resting place, tomorrow. Dos that – Do you think that means he's going to –"

He narrowed his eyes, keeping his gaze locked on the carpet. "The dead are dead," he said quietly. "They need their rest and don't belong here."

"Yuugi," she breathed, staring at him, but he just shook his head.

"The dead can only move on if we let them, Anzu," He pushed away from the window, slowly walking over to the bedroom he had been allocated in their suite, but paused at the open door to almost look back at her. "If they think they're needed… if they don't want to leave… The alive honour the dead by helping them rest. You know that."

She closed her eyes, clutching at her chest, but Yuugi just shut the door behind him with a heavy sigh. He didn't bother to turn on the light, just collapsed spread-eagled on the bed, burying his face in the covers.

The original plan had never been to stay in Cairo overnight. When he had organised it with Malik, he had been going to just visit the tablet the hour he arrived, then as soon as that was done, go onto the Valley of the Kings. But then they returned from the memory world, and he was just so tired that he fell asleep as soon as the jeep had started. The others had decided to check into a hotel and rest a night, and he hadn't been awake to complain until it was too late.

The light, tingling touch of a hand that wasn't there fell to his shoulder, shaking him away from the sleep he almost found. "Come on, aibou. You can't sleep like that."

"Beg to differ," he mumbled wearily, but Atemu just shook him again and he groaned, pushing himself to his knees. He blinked at space for a few moments, then turned around to unzip his boots, letting the silence reign until he had thrown the first one off the end of the bed. "Sorry."

"Hm?" Atemu prompted, sitting back against the pillows. "What for?"

"We should be crossing the Nile by now," he said quietly, focussed on his feet. "If I wasn't so pathetic…"

"Aibou, I was in control of your body for a grand total of five minutes and _I _almost fell asleep," he replied calmly. "You can't blame yourself for your body being exhausted. With all the dark magic that's been running through it since we reached Egypt, I would be more worried if you were fine. Not to mention that you in particular are not built for dark games, which just makes it harder on your mind."

Yuugi rolled his eyes in self-disgust, shrugging out of his jacket with more force than was really necessary. "I should have given the puzzle to Jounouch-kun, then."

Atemu opened one of the eyes he had just closed, smiling in half-jest. "Are you that eager to be rid of me? I should be insulted!"

"The other –" He cut himself off, then slowly looked around, fiddling with the clasp of his wristband. "Atemu… I…"

They looked at each other for a long moment, but Atemu's gaze quickly dropped to focus on the blankets of the bed, and Yuugi turned back to taking off his jewellery. He pulled off his shirt, but he could feel Atemu's eyes rise back to him and had to stop, fighting down his emotion.

"Aibou –"

"Could you go back in the puzzle now?" he asked quickly. Atemu's brow furrowed, and Yuugi hesitated before turning around with a smile. "I'm kinda looking to go to sleep quickly, and if I talk to anyone my head's gonna keep buzzing and I'll be up just thinking for hours."

Atemu just gazed back at him silently for a long moment, then looked away. "Good night, aibou."

"Night," he whispered, turning around again so he wouldn't have to watch as Atemu slid back into the puzzle.

Atemu frowned as he rematerialised in his soul room. It was no longer a maze, but a large, heavily bricked room, with beautiful artefacts and bright paintings covering the walls. But there were still dozens of doors in each side of the room.

For all their time together, Atemu had yet to fully understand his aibou. He was so strong, but modest to the point of being self-depreciating. Infuriatingly stubborn, but more compassionate than anyone Atemu had ever met. Quiet, but so incredibly kind that it was just intriguing.

This was their last night together. And they were both too hurt by that very idea to acknowledge it.

Atemu took a deep, shuddering breath as he leaned back against a pillar behind him. He didn't want it to be this way. He had never wanted any of it to be the way it was.

His original plan for getting his memory back and moving on had gone something along the lines of it being just him and Yuugi in front of the stone tablet. Yuugi would have broken down in tears, and he would have comforted him, and gave him just one long, lingering hug before holding the cards up to the tablet and disappearing.

Of course, he appreciated what had happened. He really did care about his friends, and he was thankful for every second he had spent with them. But there were some times he just wished he had never been partnered with Yuugi. It made leaving so much harder.

"Damn…"

He could remember two different versions of his life. In one, he had sealed himself, the thief and Zorc away before it could revive. In the other, Yuugi had been there, supporting him, and found his name in time to save everything.

But neither one felt real.

The pharaoh Atemu had died three thousand years ago, never knowing his name and never caring. So what could that possibly make him, who had searched so hard and learnt so much?

_"If they think they're needed… if they don't want to leave…"_

Atemu scratched his nails over the puzzle around his neck, his eyes narrowed. Yuugi occasionally made 'random comments' that everyone, himself included, brushed off as paranoia but somehow turned out to be meaningful.

He frowned, shifting uncomfortably at his own thoughts, and closed his eyes to fade into the nothingness of the puzzle.

* * *

The ceremonial hall was still and silent, musty from years of waiting for its combatants. They all crowded in front of the stage, shivering despite the warmth from the torches as Yuugi waited for Ishizu to finish her prayer.

"This place is creepy," whispered Mokuba, and Ryou, closest to him beyond Kaiba, nodded emphatically.

The others all watched in nervous silence as Yuugi placed each Millennium Item onto the tablet, but Jounouchi found himself eyeing the others, gauging their reactions. Ryou seemed firmly apathetic, as he always was about the Millennium Items, but Malik was almost triumphant. With the end of the Millennium war came the end of his suffering. Anzu was struggling against her tears, and Honda still looked confused. Even after everything that had happened to them, he still had trouble believing it all.

Kaiba stood tall and firm, his eyes slightly narrowed, and beside him, Mokuba was holding his breath. Sugoroku and Rishid were both stern and patient. Otogi was nervous.

He found himself staring at Ishizu. He had never seen her look so uncomfortable. She kept looking around, glancing over Yuugi and then the tablet, before looking around again.

"Do you feel that?" whispered Ryou, and they all looked around at him. He frowned at Malik, who had shifted and was closest to him. "It feels like the air is crackling."

He raised an eyebrow, but slowly nodded. "Now you mention it…"

"And is it getting colder in here?" asked Otogi, frowning at a slight breeze that had suddenly ruffled his vest.

"It's the tension of the room," murmured Honda. "The tension from the Millennium Items."

"No," breathed Malik. "No, this is different."

Yuugi finally raised his Millennium Puzzle over his head, gazing at it for a long, heart-breaking moment. He whispered something, then slid it into place.

There was a beat of silence as he stepped back, looking up at the wall mural expectantly. This was it. This was the end.

A loud crack echoed above them, and they all flinched, even Kaiba ducking down over his knees as he stared up at the ceiling.

"What the hell was that?" demanded Malik, still crouching.

"I take it that's not supposed to happen?" asked Honda, before the ground suddenly lurched beneath them, sending them all to their knees.

"Big sister? Rishid?"

Ishizu looked around to answer, but another loud bang cut her off, and the torches suddenly went out, sending them all into darkness at the same time as her scream echoed around the chamber.

"BIG SISTER!" Malik shouted automatically, but something large and heavy barrelled into him before he could move, and he slid back several metres, automatically clutching whatever had been thrown into him. He struggled to sit up, and cried out when he realised what he was holding. "Big sister! Are you alright? Big sister!"

Even in the dim light, it was clear Ishizu had been somehow knocked unconscious. Her head lolled back against his shoulder, and her cheeks were dusty with bruises. Malik pulled her upright, but didn't have to time call out again before something above them cracked, and he hunched over her protectively.

"Yuugi! Honda! Guys! Everyone okay?" shouted Jounouchi, despite his head being down near the ground with his arms over it. "Guys! Answer me!"

"Jounouchi?" called Anzu. "What's going on?"

"Bakura!" Honda yelled. "Guys, Bakura's hurt!"

"Yuugi! Anzu! Grandfather!" called Jounouchi, before something else cracked overhead, showering them with another load of dust and he was forced to hunch over again. "Everyone, get out of here!"

"Big brother!" shouted Mokuba.

"Let's go, Mokuba!" ordered Kaiba, before he barked out at the others, "We need to get out now! The roof's caving in!"

"Yuugi!" croaked Sugoroku's voice. "Yuugi, answer me!"

"I have him!" called Rishid's hoarse voice. "He is unconscious, but I do have him!"

"Honda, have you—" Jounouchi cried out as yet another crack echoed above them, followed by a terrifying groan of sandstone. "—have you got Bakura?"

"I've got him, let's go!"

Jounouchi spun around to where he'd last seen Anzu and threw out his arm, randomly clutching the first wrist he found. A manicured hand grabbed back, and together they ran for the dim light of the exit, yelping as rocks and sand rained down around them. They sprinted up the stairs, using both feet and hands, and dove for the opening, crashing out onto the sand to grip each other's shoulders at the sound of a sickening crash as the chamber finally collapsed.

It took a few minutes for everyone to stop shaking, and Kaiba was the first to recover. He had slung Mokuba into his arms as he ran, but now he slowly pulled him away from his chest to check on him. "Are you alright?"

He nodded shakily, still gripping his brother's trench coat for dear life. "Wh- what was that?"

He didn't admit his confusion, instead looking around at the others. "Bonkotsu! You alive?"

Jounouchi slowly raised his head, for once not caring about the name. "Y-yeah… Anzu?"

"Mm."

The group peered around at each other, Jounouchi's eyes lingering on Ryou's unconscious state for a moment. He looked even paler than usual; sweating and shivering like he was sick. But Honda had got him out, so whatever was wrong could eventually be fixed. Sugoroku was sitting back on the sand, staring at the collapsed tomb in front of them. Malik was shaking his sister, trying to wake her up, until Otogi pulled him back, pointing out he was probably doing more damage than not. Those two seemed fine at least…

"Rishid-san?" asked Anzu, though she was still holding Jounouchi's shoulders as if she wouldn't stay up without them. "How's Yuugi?"

All they could see of their friend was dark hair and a torn uniform. Rishid looked up at them, his usually stoic face open in shock. "Yuugi-san…"

"Rishid-san…?"

He didn't answer, just slowly uncurled his arms, allowing them to see for themselves. Long, muscled limbs splayed across the sand, leading onto thin, graceful fingers. The pained face was made from sharp, cold features and tanned, dusky skin. They all stared, their recovery forgotten as a small silver cartouche slipped around his neck to hit the sand.

Rishid had carried the pharaoh Atemu from his tomb.

* * *

Wherever he was, it was dark and musty. He couldn't see a hand in front of his face, and his lungs felt as if they had been filled with dust, with just enough room for half a breath. But he could sense there was a way out, and be damned if he was going to be buried alive.

Even if he had woken up to find himself covered in dust.

But really, he hadn't been expecting to wake up ever again, after joining with Zorc in the final Dark Game. But, almost like the first time Ryou had put on the ring, he had felt consciousness returning, a deep ache in his bones and the feeling of a few severely bruised organs.

Bakura coughed, thumping a hand into his chest to dislodge the dust there before he made his attempt. He could sense the Millennium Items under the heavy support beam in front of him, just like he could sense the way out. And he knew getting out would be that much easier with dark magic on his side.

It took some screaming, and about three breaks to breathe, but he finally managed to shift the beam out of the way, only to collapse against it in a fit of hacking coughs. He almost felt ready to breathe again when he choked on his own dusty saliva and fell to his knees, retching dryly.

"I feel like shit," he muttered, once he had recovered. He swallowed hard, waving his hand at the darkness around them. His ring would glow if it recognised its master. Unfortunately, instead of the welcoming glow he had been hoping for, his hand smacked against another heavy clay block and he swore again, pulling his hand back against his chest.

He clambered over that, and smiled as he recognised the feel of the pharaoh's memory tablet beneath his shoes. "Excellent…" he mumbled, and stepped forward, only to trip over something and break out in another coughing fit from the action.

Once he recovered, however, he realised tripping was a good thing. It had caused his hand to land on his favoured Millennium Item, and it glowed gentle gold as soon as his fingers curled around it.

"Millennium Ring," he purred, lifting it up around his neck. From there, it glowed brighter, until he could see a circle of light, nearly two metres in diameter around him. He sighed in relief, then turned to see where he was.

"A tomb?" he murmured. "No… a ceremonial battlefield," he realised. It had collapsed in on itself for some reason, but it was still recognisable. He could see the carefully painted eye above him. He took a deep breath, barely coughing as he let it out, then turned back to see what he had fallen over.

His eyes widened in disbelief. "Yuugi!"

The little Yuugi was sprawled before the foot of the tablet, visibly broken and bleeding, his skin pale and sickly even in the golden light of the ring. Bakura knelt down, his hand hovering in front of the barely parted lips. Blood was seeping from Yuugi's mouth, but he was still breathing, though it was short and too erratic for even Bakura's taste. He poked Yuugi's cheek for a reaction, but then hissed and pulled his hand back. He was burning up.

"Now what happened to you, then?" Bakura murmured, before turning back to the tablet. He picked out each item, pushing the eye and tauk into his pocket, and the rod and key through his belt. He fingered the puzzle as he picked out the scales, but decided to hang it around Yuugi's neck instead. It was lighter around the kid's neck, and if he was going to get everything _and_ Yuugi out, then it would just be easier this way.

He hefted Yuugi up into his arms, deciding to ignore the part of him that was wondering why the hell he didn't just leave him, and picked his way through the rubble toward a very thin ray of light on the other side of the chamber.

"Aw, hell…"

Stairs. Almost completely blocked stairs, though he could see a path he would have considered easy under normal circumstances. But as it was, he was weak, carrying a near-dead teenager, and had no idea whether it really was a way out.

"In short, Yuugi," he told him decisively, "I'm fucked."

* * *

The sound of loud, unfamiliar voices and a near constant beep slowly brought him back to the world, and he mumbled, recognising that he had been much happier unconscious, away from the pain. His entire body ached, and his brain refused to not kick into usual high function despite the stabbing pain running through both temples.

/ Aibou… oh, gods, aibou… / He hissed in a breath, struggling to lift his hand enough to search for the puzzle. / Aibou, what happened? Dammit… /

"Yuugi?" asked a soft voice, and after a moment he recognised it as Anzu's. "Yuugi, are you awake?"

He ignored her, his hand flopping in random circles in a search for his spirit home. / Aibou? Aibou, I can't find… / He trailed off as his fingers flopped onto his neck, but didn't find a chain. He blinked his eyes open, frowning at the fuzzy yellow ceiling above him. / Aibou/

His hand was taken into soft fingers, but the eyes that appeared above him weren't the transparent violet orbs he wanted. They were solid, and a deep, sapphire blue. "Yuugi? Yuu… oh wow… guys, come look at this."

"Ai… ohh…" He tried to push his head up, but he just felt too heavy. He collapsed back against whatever he was lying on, just staring through vacant eyes as Jounouchi and Honda crowded around him.

"Whoa, red… freaky man…"

"Yo, Yuugi, how d'you feel?"

A small, dark part of him had the urge to punch Jounouchi just for asking that, but even if he had ever been one to give in to those sort of desires, he was too weak right now. He barely had the energy to roll his head off balance to look off to the side. "Ai… bou…? Whe…re… puzzle…?"

"Shh, Yuugi, it's okay," breathed Anzu, brushing back his hair. "Don't try to speak. You've been out cold for almost two hours now, just relax."

"Whe…re?" He was having such trouble speaking, it was no wonder she couldn't understand who he was.

"We're at the emergency station of the Luxor City Hospital," she recited, as if the cold facts would be reassuring. Normally they would have been, but he didn't know where his puzzle was. "We're waiting on a doctor, but because you don't have any visible injuries, it's taking a little longer than we hoped."

"Puzzle," he mumbled, fighting to roll his head forward. "Ai… bou. Puzzle and… aibou… where…?"

"Wait a minute, 'aibou'?" repeated Jounouchi, leaning closer. "Did you say 'aibou'?"

"Yeah," he panted, rolling his eyes around to meet his gaze instead. "My… aibou?"

"But that makes you… shit," Jounouchi straightened up, staring around at the others. "Guys, this is the _other _Yuugi! Yuugi doesn't look different, the other – I mean, Atemu does! This is Atemu!"

He blinked wearily as the lights began to flicker, and a few of the unfamiliar voices raised in alarm.

"But the puzzle," said Honda, frowning around at the others. "The puzzle's back in the chamber! If this is the other Yuugi, then normal Yuugi must be in the puzzle!"

"Puzzle…?" asked Atemu, his eyes sliding shut despite himself. "Where…? Aibou…?"

"Shh, Atemu, it's okay," soothed Anzu, glancing at the other two worriedly. She continued to smooth back his hair as she jerked her head over at where Malik was taking care of Ryou. Honda nodded and hurried over to tell them, while Anzu turned back to calming down Atemu. "The oth- uh, Yuugi's just fine. Um… Otogi is taking care of the Millennium Items right now. Because you're not well, and the doctors would probably take it off you."

"I… I want… aibou, I need…" he said breathlessly, struggling to keep his mind at the same level as darkness began to close around him again. "The puzzle. I… care… puzzle is… aibou is…"

"Shh, shh… we'll get it back to you as soon as possible, everything's fine," she said gently, raising her eyebrows at Jounouchi. "Just go back to sleep now. Everything's fine."

He found he didn't really have the energy to object.

* * *

"Oi, Yuugi. Wake up. Oi. Oi!"

Yuugi made a small, pained noise, but only turned his head to the side, still far from coherency. Bakura scowled, leaning over to tap his cheek roughly. Not that he particularly cared if Yuugi lived or died, but that annoying moralistic voice in his head that he liked to call Ryou (even if it wasn't) was telling him that he had to at least _try _to get the kid out.

Besides, this close to death it would be good for him if he looked like he was at least _trying _to do something good.

But Yuugi had lost a lot of blood. True, it was starting to clot, and his breathing was a little better than it had been, but he was hardly in a state to get up and duel, which was saying something for this particular kid. It was annoying as all hell.

"Come on, I don't have time for this. Wake up. Oi! _Midget_, wake up!"

He stiffened as his final shout caused another rain of dust to fall around him, but as nerve racking as it was, it had been effective. Yuugi's eyes clenched, before slowly blinking open a little, his gaze dumb and bleary as he stared at the space above him.

"Oh, so you answer to midget, do you?" Bakura asked dryly, shifting into Yuugi's line of sight. "You alive then, midget?"

It took a few more seconds, but eventually Yuugi focussed on his face. His lips moved, but Bakura couldn't make out whatever he was trying to say, it was so weak. He frowned, and held up three fingers. "Okay. Blink however many fingers I'm holding up."

He didn't blink, but his eyes slid shut again and Bakura swore loudly. "No! No, you fucking moron, don't fall unconscious now! You – dammit…" He stood up, glaring down at him angrily. "I guess you wouldn't have been able to walk, anyway."

The stairs weren't as badly blocked as he'd thought. If Yuugi had been conscious and healthy enough to stand, he knew they would have been able to shift the rocks blocking their way and get out. He let out a long breath, scowling at the thin ray of light above him.

"Fine. But I'm blaming you if my yadounushi dies here, midget," he shot back at Yuugi, before clambering up into the stairway.

* * *

Surprisingly, the rocks were relatively easy to move. They were only heavy and dusty. It was the sand that was most difficult – constantly shifting, only to be replaced by more, and packed down with weight.

Jounouchi, Honda and Malik had been fighting heat stroke for over an hour now, the sun beating down on their now bare backs as they shifted the rubble surrounding the entrance to the ceremonial chamber. Honda was just struggling not to look at Malik. The sweat was dripping down his scar, creating disturbing patterns that invited morbid fascination.

They were all glad when Otogi wandered over from the jeep, holding his mobile phone aloft. "Hold on, guys."

"That the hospital?" asked Malik, shoving sweat slicked hair from his face. "Is Big Sister okay?"

"Yeah. She hit her head on something, and the doctors can't explain how she managed to get hit by a boomerang this wide—" He held his hands about two feet apart, smiling wryly. "—but she can. She says something went wrong, and a shock wave of magic exploded from Yuugi and the pharaoh's memory tablet. She'll be fine after some rest."

"What about the others?" asked Honda, setting his hands on his hips and hunching. It was a relief to hear Ishizu would be fine, but the idea of magic shock waves had set him off guard. "Bakura and Atemu?"

"Well, the doctors finally got around to seeing Bakura-kun," he said, scowling. "He wasn't high on their to-do list because he wasn't bleeding, wealthy or native."

"What?"

"Nothing. Anyway, they finally got around to it after Ishizu lectured them all on international relations, and they said he's relatively okay," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "He's not going to be walking anywhere for a while yet, and they had to strap up his head and ankle—nasty bruises on the inside of the skin—but on the whole he's okay. It's just like someone took all the energy out of him ala Matrix-battery."

"Weird," stated Honda, and Otogi nodded.

"As for Atemu-kun, they're calling it exhaustion and malnutrition. Without his medical history, identification, and insurance policy—all of which he doesn't have and no one's really sure how to explain—they can't run tests for anything else," he said, folding his arms over his stomach. "But apparently it seems okay, because all he's doing is sleeping and-slash-or asking for his puzzle and aibou. Ishizu's gonna get them transferred to Cairo in the morning, though, just in case."

"Any clues as to why Yuugi's suddenly all tall, dark and red-eyed?" asked Jounouchi, but Otogi shook his head.

"Ishizu said we would have to find the puzzle before we could answer any questions."

"Huh?"

"It's possible that magic shock wave was a result of something more serious than we thought," offered Malik, turning back to the rubble. "It's possible the puzzle did something we didn't think was possible."

"Such as?"

"Such as… reverting Yuugi-kun into the pharaoh," he suggested, picking up a rock to throw aside. "It could have separated them like it was supposed to, just badly, it could have… I dunno, sent Yuugi-kun back in time to replace the dead pharaoh, how the hell should I know? I'm just saying anything's possible."

Jounouchi sighed, shaking his head in annoyance, before he suddenly blinked, and his head jerked to the side. "Huh?" he wondered, crouching down to listen.

They all stared at him, but after a few seconds of silence, they began to hear the sound of banging rocks. "Sounds like someone is down there," murmured Honda, kneeling down to hear better.

"Is it Yuugi-kun?" asked Malik, but the others shook their heads.

"That's cussing," Jounouchi said quietly, leaning closer. "Listen…"

"…mother fuckin' shit… I tell you… sister fucking pharaoh's fault… when… shove up his… gets better… gonna wring his fucking throat for… crap…"

"That's… not Yuugi-kun," said Malik.

Jounouchi glanced at the other two. "Does sound kind of familiar though…"

"Yeah…" agreed Honda, leaning close.

"…you die… damn well… son of a…"

"Quick, hand me the torch," ordered Jounouchi, and Otogi ran back to the jeep to get it for him. He switched it on before he gave it to Jounouchi, who swung it around to peer down the hole.

"Argh, you fucking –! Turn that shit off!"

Jounouchi flinched, and Honda paled, recognising the voice. "Is that…"

"Dark Bakura," finished Jounouchi, gaping. "_Bakura_? That you?"

"No it's the goddamn Emperor, you mother fucking fools, either turn that damn thing off or throw it down here!"

The four boys exchanged glances, then shrugged. Jounouchi let go of the torch.

"… shining in my – HEY! Watch it!" he shouted, and Jounouchi smirked, proud to have hurt the thief in some way, shape or form, even if it was on accident. "Shit piece of…"

"Anyone else notice that Dark Bakura-kun swears a lot more than normal Bakura-kun?" commented Otogi, and the others chuckled.

"When he's in trouble. He's actually pretty formal when he knows what he's doing," said Honda, and Jounouchi nodded before turning back toward the hole.

"You aren't dying or anything are you? I wouldn't mind, only I have a feeling Bakura'd like to see it happen!"

"No one hurts my yadounushi but me, you fucking hear me?" shouted Bakura. "I ain't letting him die because of some fucking cave-in shit…"

"No, Bakura's fine," called Honda. "We're asking about you."

"Would the lot of you stop with the fucking riddles and clear that fucking rock before your precious fucking midget dies on me?" he snapped, and they all froze.

"What?"

The light swung up to hit Jounouchi square in the eye. He groaned, but Bakura had apparently just done it to catch their attention. "You heard me. I've got Yuugi here. He's seen better days. Now shift that shit and get us out of here!"


	2. Recovery

**Akh**

_**Chapter Two – Recovery**_

**DISCLAIMER: **The question occasionally arises lately as to whether Bakura actually exists in the modern world. To tell the truth, I'm not completely certain where I stand on the issue, because I can't read kanji (I kinda suck at it, really. Beyond really random words like 'Friday' 'mountain' and 'i' as in 'ikeru'…) and let's face it – Bakura's storyling got kinda mangled in the anime because he got so little screentime on compare with the manga. But I have my theories based on Zorc's need for a human connection, so for the sake of my sanity, we'll say I think he does.

* * *

"Yuugi, calm down!"

Atemu glared at her, his muscles still refusing to fully cooperate and therefore making it easy for Anzu to keep him from pushing past her. "My aibou –"

"The other Yuugi is fine!" she insisted. "Grandfather isn't even allowed in to see him yet, let alone us!"

"But he needs _me_!"

"He's unconscious! He doesn't have a clue what's going on!"

"He's in pain!"

"He wouldn't even know you're there!" she cried. "Yuu- Atemu, you're just hurting yourself; you need to go back to bed and lie down!"

"I'm fine, aibou is not!" he snapped. It had been two days since the accident, and although he was still far from healthy, Atemu had been fighting to get out of bed and see Yuugi ever since becoming coherent enough to understand what had happened. Yuugi, on the other hand, had only gotten out of final surgery the night before, and the doctors weren't sure when he was going to wake up.

"Atemu," began Anzu, scowling as the light above her flickered. As disrespectful as it was for her to question their funding distribution, Anzu was sick of this hospital's electricity. Ever since they had arrived in Cairo, the lights and equipment had been fluctuating all over the place. "Yuugi was knocked unconscious and buried under a large sandstone support beam. He lost a lot of blood, broke six bones, and they think he lost as much energy if not more than Ryou did in that magic blast. He was in surgery for eleven hours. They don't know when he's going to wake up. You being there, getting in the way of the medical equipment, is not going to help."

"I have to be with him," he snarled back, but Anzu was rock-steady.

"The best thing you can do for him right now is go find Ishizu-san and Malik-kun, and work out what happened down in the ceremonial chamber."

He glared at her for a long moment, then tsked and yanked his hospital gown tighter around his shoulders. He had turned it around backward, using it as a jacket over his torn and dirtied pants, and on his new form, Anzu had to admit it looked surprisingly good. But she was so irritated with him that it was hard to appreciate the superficial things.

It was amazing, really. Now he didn't look that much _like _Yuugi, it was like dealing with a whole new person, and so far she wasn't sure if she liked him that much. She knew it was just because he was anxious, but he was being so frustrating!

"How about this? I'll go try and find the… Yuugi!" she shouted, suddenly realising he had slipped past her. She spun around, clenching her fists as she saw him running down the hall. "Yuu- Atemu, get back here!"

He was going to kill himself moving like that right now! She took off after him, dodging interns and nurses as she sprinted toward the lifts. Yuugi was in intensive care on the floor below, so when Atemu just managed to slip through the elevator doors she swore, spinning around to go find the stairs.

It took too long, of course, and when she scrambled out onto the second floor landing, staring around and panting, Atemu could already be seen staring blankly at the room directory.

"Don't you dare move," she muttered, but Atemu caught sight of her anyway, and ducked around a questioning doctor as he took off again. "Damn Jounouchi and his big mouth!"

Honestly, Atemu had been _unconscious _and still worrying about Yuugi. Telling him what room the guy was in was just dumb! And the damn room numbers were in English! Atemu knew English as well as Yuugi did, of course he was going to try and find him, regardless of his own personal health! Jounouchi had to be the most idiotic friend she had ever had!

Luckily, Atemu's ill health caught up with him, and Anzu managed to overtake him a few doors from Yuugi's room. He stared at her, panting hard, his eyes widening in a disturbing impression of Yuugi's wounded puppy-dog look.

"He's right there… just let… just let me see him," he said weakly, and she bit her lip, looking around for one of the few doctors that spoke a language they could understand. Atemu took a step forward, imploring. "Please, Anzu. He's my aibou."

She inwardly groaned, feeling her resistance fail. "But the doctors said we're not allowed!"

"Ah, but we're Japanese tourists," he pointed out, smirking. "Since when do we listen to foreigners?"

"But…"

He stepped past her, moving forward to take the door handle to Yuugi's room. "I just want to see him. Just for a second. Then we can go back."

"Nn…"

He ignored her weak objection and opened the door, only to freeze at the sight that greeted him. Anzu frowned, tilting her head at his expression. "Atemu?"

Seemingly ignoring her, Atemu walked into the room, his movements jerky in a way she could never have imagined. She hurried forward to pull him back out, but when she entered the room she gasped, her hands flying up to her mouth.

It was nothing like the unconscious people you saw on TV. They were always so pretty and pale, looking just like Juliet waiting for her Romeo. Yuugi looked tiny and fragile, buried under tubes and wires that ran from different points all over his body. His arm and ankle were locked in heavy casts, bandages winding their way around almost every other part of him. He just looked so small and… _translucent _and… so not alive… Anzu fell back against the doorframe, her eyes watering.

Atemu's eyes travelled over the surrounding machines, taking in the steady beep of the heart monitor and the respirator. He forced himself to move closer, stepping up beside the bed so he could see it all.

This was so much worse than the fire…

He slowly reached out, his fingers brushing over a small, stitched up cut over Yuugi's brow, but his hand had begun shaking too much to stay there for long. He gulped down a painful breath, staring at his aibou with blank eyes. "Did I do this…?" he wondered, breathless.

"Y- Yuugi," whispered Anzu, suddenly. "We shouldn't be here. We have to leave. We have to go. Now. Back to your room."

"Y- yeah," he managed, before his knees suddenly gave out from under him, and he hit the floor hard, his breath caught in his chest. He clenched his hands around his knees, and his head fell forward to rest against the side of the bed as he shuddered.

So much worse than the fire…

* * *

"We have to go back to Japan. There are better facilities, we'll be better equipped ourselves, and we'll actually be able to understand what the doctors are telling us."

Mokuba scowled, looking over at Honda in annoyance. "These aren't just any doctors, y'know! Soon as we heard Yuugi was hurt, we flew in Kaiba Corp. doctors! You aren't going to get much better than that!"

"We still can't understand what they're saying!"

"Mokuba," murmured Kaiba, cutting him off before he could retort, and slowly opened his eyes to look around the room. The others weren't exactly sure why he and Mokuba had remained in Egypt, but he had glared until they all accepted the excuse that he wanted to see how well is new personal physicians worked. The truth of it was that he wanted to know about the man sitting opposite him, who had appeared out of the ceremonial field and whose blood samples revealed nothing but dust.

Atemu was sitting back in a position much like his own – arms and legs crossed, head lowered in regal arrogance. But one who was used to hiding their own tension could see the way his muscles were clenched, and his closed eyes hinted that they were red behind the lids, constantly flicking in the direction he wanted to run.

"Yuugi is receiving the best care the doctors can give," Kaiba said coldly. "The fact that the only intelligible language they speak is English makes them arrogant, not idiots. As for the facilities, there is no point in going to a better-equipped hospital, as Yuugi does not need better equipment. He does not _need _everything he is using now."

Atemu's eyes opened ever so slightly, the idea that it was better than it looked sparking some sudden hope.

"Moving him would only upset his injuries. And I am not wasting any more money on flying you all on a Kaiba Corp. jet," he added. "In short, Mokuba?"

"Suck it up!" he finished triumphantly, and Otogi visibly bit back his smile.

The foreign group had gathered in a waiting room on Atemu's floor, hoping for some sign of change as to Yuugi's condition before visiting hours ended for the night and everyone but Sugoroku was ordered back to their hotel. So far, there had been no change for Yuugi, though Bakura was able to talk without coughing again and Ryou had woken up for a few minutes earlier in the night, which the doctors reported was an excellent sign of recovery. They only had another half-hour.

Sugoroku suddenly let out a long, tired breath. "What am I going to tell his mother…?"

"I'm still waiting for an explanation myself," said Jounouchi, pushing himself out of his hunch over his knees. "I mean, what the hell happened? How the hell did… did… _he _happen?" he demanded, waving at Atemu.

"Atemu-kun? Do you know?" asked Otogi, and the pharaoh blinked once before raising his head to meet his gaze.

"Huh?"

"How you're solid. Any ideas?"

"Oh… uh… no," he said haltingly. "I don't… Nothing."

There was another pause, the others all exchanging worried glances, and Sugoroku stood up, walking over to put his hand on Atemu's shoulder. "Why don't you go back to your room?"

He blinked again, looking up at him. "What?"

"To your room. You need your rest."

Atemu stared at him, clearly not comprehending the point, and Sugoroku frowned slightly, leaning down to meet him on eye-level. "It's past the time for playing with games."

The others exchanged glances, confused this time, but something about the phrase seemed to connect with Atemu, because he nodded quickly, his brow furrowing. "Right…" He nodded again and stood up, only pausing when Sugoroku patted his back. He hesitated, then turned to the others and bowed his head. "Good night," he said vaguely, then turned and walked out of the room.

They all stared, and Jounouchi turned his head to blink at Sugoroku instead. "How'd you do that? When he – when we were in America, it took us like an hour to get him to understand what a glass of water was for."

He smiled, shaking his head. "That, boy, is a secret of the Mutou family. Now, might I suggest you all follow his example. The sooner you all sleep, the sooner you will wake up closer to the boys' recovery."

They exchanged glances again, and Honda shrugged as he got to his feet, clapping his hands in a bracing swing. "I'm all for that."

* * *

A quiet shuffling woke Sugoroku from a restless sleep in the still-dark hours of the early morning. He opened his eyes, careful to remain still as he noticed a man climbing up onto Yuugi's bed.

For a bare second, he considered raising the alarm, but then paused, recognising the distinctive outline in the darkness. He narrowed his eyes so they wouldn't shine in the dark, stiffening to keep still and silent as he watched for what Atemu would do.

It wasn't very exciting, or inspiring. The young pharaoh merely lay down beside Yuugi, carefully entwining himself amongst the wires and tubes to wrap his arms and one leg as close around Yuugi as he could, and leant his head into the crook of Yuugi's shoulder. He closed his eyes, breathing a deep, shuddering breath, and Sugoroku felt his heart break a little.

It was the image any parent had seen at least once. Sugoroku could remember his daughter doing it every time she had a nightmare, and Yuugi himself whenever his parents began to fight. But he had never imagined a king could manage it.

"Be strong, aibou," whispered Atemu, his voice shaking. "Please, I need you back…"

Not for the first time, Sugoroku wondered just how old Atemu had been before he died. It was easy to think of him as an adult, and he certainly looked the part, these days. He always acted as if nothing could hurt him, but there were times… When Sugoroku really thought about those times that no one was supposed to be looking and no one could know, Atemu curling up like a lost child wasn't so farfetched.

Sugoroku continued to watch him for a moment, then settled down to go back to sleep. He woke up when the morning roster changed, and the nurse came by to check all patients were asleep and well.

Atemu was no longer there.

* * *

"And you're the voice," said Ryou, atypically blunt as he spoke over the head of the doctor examining his heart rate. "The voice in my head."

"Yes," replied Bakura, his arms folded. Upon hearing Ryou was awake and capable of speech, he had gotten himself out of bed and calmly made his way to the boy's room, completely ignoring the doctors who attempted to tell him he needed more oxygen. He was as fluent in English as Ryou, but he really didn't care.

"Do you have a name?" asked Ryou.

Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Does it matter?"

"Yes."

He didn't answer for a moment, looking irritated instead. "The thief king Bakura."

"The thief king Bakura," Ryou repeated blankly. "What about your real name?"

"Does it matter?" he asked again, and Ryou's brow furrowed in annoyance.

"Yes."

"The thief king Bakura," he repeated, and smirked at Ryou's scowl.

"That's not funny. _I'm _Bakura."

"No, you're my yadounushi Ryou," he said simply, and Ryou's eyebrow ticked.

"I'm not your yadounushi, and only my family calls me Ryou."

"You were and are going to be my yadounushi, and I'll call you whatever I like, rabbit."

"_Rabbit_?"

Sitting on the bed opposite—which he had a nasty feeling would soon become the thief's whether the hospital liked it or not—Honda raised his eyebrows, not sure whether to be amused or confused by Ryou's reaction to Bakura. Normally he was so quiet and polite, but even when first being introduced, Ryou had been atypically standoffish; almost rude.

Weirder still, Bakura seemed to be enjoying the attitude far too much.

* * *

The doctors had said Yuugi would wake up sometime the next day, but Sugoroku just couldn't sleep. He wanted to be there and awake the instant Yuugi opened his eyes.

Apparently Atemu felt the same way. He was supposed to have left the hospital earlier that day—and had, for a grand total of two hours before he returned, showered and dressed in a pair of Otogi's clothes that, although the right length, were at least a size too small. Theoretically, he had been going to spend the night sleeping in a chair beside Sugoroku, but the old man had decided to take pity on the poor boy and pretended to sleep long enough for him to curl up and fall asleep beside Yuugi again.

It was almost sad to even watch him. He looked so much younger with his muscles relaxed; and the commanding presence failed without the arrogant personality to back it up. Sugoroku sighed, tilting his head at a quiet groaning sound as Atemu shifted. He pursed his lips, shaking his head sadly. He even sounded pitiable.

"Hmble… Grand… pa…?"

He frowned, half rising from his chair to check on him, before the voice suddenly registered and he stiffened.

"Grandpa… wha…at?" breathed a tired voice, and Sugoroku slowly turned, his throat closing as he noticed a shining pair of eyes peering back at him over the respirator mask.

"Yuugi…?"

He frowned, struggling to look around. "Grandpa… Where…? Ow… Where…?" He tried to turn his head and see where Atemu's hair was coming from, but the tubes soon got in his way and he rolled his eyes back to his grandfather. "Grandpa?"

His voice was barely audible over the machines and through his mask, but it was enough that Atemu soon opened his eyes, raising his head and flinching when he noticed Sugoroku was awake. "Grandfather Sugoroku, I –"

"The… other… me…?" breathed Yuugi, and Atemu shoved himself up out of shock, got caught the UV drip and so had to drop back down. He hissed in annoyance, then carefully picked himself out and leaned over Yuugi.

"Aibou? Aibou, you're awake! Oh, thank the gods, aibou, you're alright!" he cried breathlessly, his hands flitting above Yuugi, wanting to touch him but afraid of hurting him.

For his part, Yuugi just gazed back at him blankly for a long moment, trying to process. "You… the other…?"

"Yes… yes, aibou, it's me…" he said, silently laughing in relief. "How did you…?"

He just smiled weakly. "Lousy… lousy dream," he said, his eyes fluttering closed again. "Not s'posed to hurt in these… dreams…"

"Yuugi! Yuugi," whispered Sugoroku, leaning past the feeding tubes and monitor cables to push back his hair. "Yuugi, this isn't a dream. You have to stay awake. Focus on our voices."

"Grandpa?" he asked wearily, opening his eyes again. "You said… It's not…?"

"No, it's real," he said, and Yuugi frowned, rolling his eyes back to Atemu.

"Then…?"

Atemu just laughed again, his eyes soft as he shook his head. "I'll explain later, aibou. Just stay awake for me for now, alright?"

"But I… hurt," he croaked. "And… I can't… breathe properly… my throat is blocked… I hurt."

"It's alright. We'll do something to fix that," said Sugoroku, before nodding at Atemu. "Press that white button behind you."

"Huh? Oh, yeah," He quickly tapped the call button before turning his full attention back to Yuugi. "Thank the gods…"

"Uh huh," he mumbled, then looked back at Sugoroku. "Where am I, again…?"

* * *

In all honesty, Yuugi wasn't quite sure where to look. He was feeling a little light headed from all the painkillers, and even so, his friends were making him dizzy. He suddenly understood why he was only supposed to have one or two visitors at a time.

Anzu was crying outright, her hands up and covering her mouth as she stared at him, her shoulders shuddering with every happy sob. Jounouchi was just grinning at him broadly, a single, constant stream of tears falling down the right side of his face, and even Honda's eyes were shining with moisture. Otogi just kept alternating between a wild grin and open disbelief.

Yuugi blinked wearily, staring around at them all in confusion. "Guys, really, I think I'm okay…"

"You idiot!" wailed Anzu, before lunging forward, her arms sliding around his neck as she tried to hug him tightly. Her sobs got louder, and Yuugi raised both arms as best he could, panicking.

"Anzu, I – sorry, I just –"

"Don't apologise, you idiot!" she cried. "I thought you were gonna die! Don't scare me like that, you idiot!"

"Anzu, that's the third time you've called him an idiot in as many seconds," said Otogi, but Anzu just sobbed again, burying her face in Yuugi's hair.

"I'll call him an idiot if I want to! Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot!"

"Wh- what –?" stammered Yuugi, but Honda just smiled, nodding happily.

"It's just really good to have you back," he said, and Yuugi blinked.

Although he was still sleeping most of the time, the doctors said Yuugi was quickly getting better. He wasn't to do any strenuous exercise for the next four months or so, but with therapy, he would be up and walking under his own power in just under two. His left arm would be perfectly fine in about a week, and the doctors had explained that his foot cast would allow him to walk semi-normally in a few weeks. He couldn't really understand what everyone was so upset about.

Anzu finally pulled back to wipe at her eyes, but was almost immediately replaced by Jounouchi, and he coughed at the much tighter hold. "Jounouch-kun!" he gasped. "It hurts!"

"Oh yeah!" He pulled back just enough to look at him, grinning wildly, then leaned back in with an only slightly lesser grip. "I just… Damn man, you had me scared."

"I'm okay, really," he said, then huffed out a breath as Honda leaned around Anzu, sliding his arm under Yuugi's head to give him a halfway hug as well. He grinned, guiltily revelling in the affection as he felt even Otogi rub his uninjured leg.

It took almost twenty minutes, interrupted by several more hugs and a lot more tears, but the group eventually decided to accept Yuugi was alive and wouldn't be dying any time soon. It wasn't until then that Anzu remembered Atemu.

"Oh…" She blinked, turning to look at him, and the others quickly followed her gaze, embarrassed. Atemu had been the one to come and tell them Yuugi had woken up, while the doctors gave him a routine exam and spoke with Sugoroku. He had seemed odd at the time, atypically fidgety as he hummed and stammered his way through the facts. Jounouchi would have called him on it, but was too excited about Yuugi being awake to care. Now he was leaning back against the corner, hiding in the only shadows the brightly lit hospital room allowed. He visibly swallowed when they looked at him, folding his arms tighter across his chest as he avoided meeting anyone's gaze.

"The other me," murmured Yuugi, and Atemu's eyes flickered, before slowly rising to meet his gaze. They stared at each other blankly for a long second, before Jounouchi suddenly coughed.

"You know what, I'm hungry! Let's get breakfast, guys!"

"Oh, but –" began Anzu, but both Honda and Otogi had already grabbed her biceps.

"Great idea, Jounouchi!" crowed Honda, as they started for the door. "Yuugi, we'll be back! Try and sleep and… we'll be back!"

They hustled Anzu out the door and slammed it shut, leaving Yuugi and Atemu alone. They continued to stare at each other, nervous and uncomfortable.

Finally, Yuugi let out a breathy laugh, stretching his fingers. "I guess I worried a lot of people, huh?"

"Yeah," he said vaguely. Yuugi forced another laugh, and Atemu cleared his throat, pushing off the wall. "But you're awake now, and… Do you – do you need any – anything? Do you have enough – um – enough painkillers and –?"

"Mm. Mm, I'm okay," he said weakly, and Atemu nodded.

"Good. Good, good…"

"Um… so this – you – You look different," Yuugi suddenly blurted out, smiling painfully. "It's – You look good. Darker… suits you and… and… tall and…"

"Yeah, I didn't really notice, but I am pretty tall, aren't I?" he said nervously, taking a short step forward. "Taller than Anzu even without hair, now."

"Mm, I noticed."

"Yeah…"

They fell silent again, avoiding each other's gaze. Yuugi scratched at the skin just outside his arm cast, his eyes flicking over Atemu's legs, then up to his waist, arms, hair, and chest, before finally redirecting on his face. Atemu glanced at him, then took another two obviously forced steps forward, bringing him within reaching distance of the bed.

"This is, um," Yuugi hesitated, then coughed out another laugh. "It feels kinda… awkward."

"Which is a bit… strange, considering," said Atemu, but he took the final step, which brought him close enough to reach out and touch, though he kept his arms crossed. "I… About this morning… When you woke up, I was – I didn't mean to –"

"Sit down," Yuugi said suddenly, his arm jerking in an almost compulsive motion. "You – you look exhausted."

Atemu hesitated, glancing back at the chair, but Yuugi was gesturing to the side of the bed Anzu had been sitting on when she had latched onto his neck. After a moment, he slowly sat down, smiling weakly. "Thanks."

They looked at each other again, before Atemu suddenly barked out a forced laugh and Yuugi huffed out his tension in one quick breath. They looked at each other silently for a second before Yuugi smiled, shrugging helplessly. "You do look tired, though."

"I haven't slept much these past few days," he said quietly, smiling back. "You really scared me, aibou."

"Sorry," he whispered, and Atemu nodded, narrowing his eyes slightly in what Yuugi could still recognise as an affectionate look.

Atemu hesitated again, then slowly unfolded his arms, his fingers uncurling as he gently lowered his hand to the cast on Yuugi's arm. They both looked at it for a moment before smiling at each other again, and Atemu slid his hand down until it slipped onto Yuugi's fingers and curled around them.

Yuugi let out a soft breath, his eyes prickling with tears as the cool touch slid into his hand. Atemu's thumb settled against a vein in Yuugi's finger, and Yuugi hiccupped when he felt a pulse.

"You're so warm," whispered Atemu.

"Your fingers are rough," breathed Yuugi, and Atemu's smile broadened as he lifted his other hand up to Yuugi's face, brushing over the bruise until he could cup Yuugi's jaw line.

Slowly, his fingers trailed up and over Yuugi's ear, tracing the line of his face around his eye ridge and down over his nose. "I could never have been behind this face," he whispered. "How could I have ever been mistaken for you?"

Yuugi tried to furrow his brow, but Atemu hissed for quiet, gently pressing his fingers across the smooth skin. He touched Yuugi's lips, smiling at the resulting blush, then ran his fingers up and back through Yuugi's hair. He shook his head, amazed by the reality of his situation, and smiled. "It's unbelievable."

"The other me?" he whispered, but Atemu just shook his head again and untangled his hand from Yuugi's grip, sliding it around Yuugi's waist as the other slipped behind his neck. He slowly leaned forward, pulling Yuugi up into a soft, cautious hug. For a moment, Yuugi remained perfectly still, just adjusting to the new feeling, but then he turned his head into Atemu's neck and carefully wrapped his arms around him, holding as tightly as his weakened muscles would allow.

"Do you mind if…" Atemu paused, clenching his eyes shut as he gently squeezed Yuugi closer. "Could I just hold you for a little while?"

"As long as you like," he said softly.

No one even thought to comment when they came back to find Atemu sleeping next to Yuugi, his arms still carefully wrapped around his aibou.

* * *

"I can feed myself, Anzu."

"No, you can't."

"I really can."

"The cast on your arm really begs to differ."

"And the other arm really argues the point."

"Which is then refuted by the bandage on that arm."

Yuugi opened his mouth to reply, then paused, realising that, as irritating as it was, Anzu had a point. He scowled, leaning away from the fork she was poking into his face. "I don't need babying."

"I'm not babying, I'm feeding!" she insisted, but he just glared at her.

"Same thing! The other me, help!"

Atemu slowly raised his head from Yuugi's shoulder long enough to appraise the situation, blinked twice, and then put his head back down. "He doesn't need you to feed him, Anzu," he said wearily, and Yuugi laughed in satisfaction, only to be cut off when Atemu continued. "I'll do it later."

"The other me!"

Their friends broke out in laughter, gathered around the bed. After almost twelve extra hours of sleep, Yuugi had returned to his usual frame of mind and was quickly making every member of the entire medical ward fall in love with him. He had already convinced Otogi that he was well enough that Otogi could go back to work, and started fussing over not only the still-weak Ryou, but also his exhausted Grandfather and Atemu's sprained wrist. He was even quickly getting over his fear to worry about the thief's ill health, grateful to the man who had pulled him out of the ceremonial battlefield.

Jounouchi, sitting perched at Atemu's feet, grinned and patted Yuugi's unbroken foot. "Face it, Yuugi. For the next month, you're nothing but a Baby-Born doll for Anzu to play Mother with."

"Do I get any sympathy about this at all?" asked Yuugi, but even Ryou just smiled at him cheekily.

"You should just enjoy it, Yuugi-kun. You're like royalty!"

"I'm fine! I just wanna go home!" he groaned hopelessly, then turned his head to look at Mokuba, sitting in Sugoroku's usual chair by the bed. "_When _can I go home?"

He shrugged. "They're a bit nervous about it, but they think you'll be okay to fly in about a week."

"A _week_?"

"You ask me, I think the staff just want to keep him around as long as possible," said Honda, grinning. "Careful, Yuugi, or they'll convert you to Egyptian culture and keep you forever."

"But Mum comes home on the twenty-ninth!" continued Yuugi, ignoring them. "She'll freak out if we're not back!"

"Not to mention school goes back soon," said Anzu, poking Yuugi's lunch with her fork as she considered. "We're all gonna be in big trouble if we miss any of the final term."

"Oh, man, school!" groaned Yuugi, and he would have slapped a hand to his head if the only one not in cast weren't currently wrapped beneath his other self's arm. "How am I supposed to work with my right hand in a cast?"

"I've got a bigger problem for you," said Honda, humour gone as he furrowed his brow. "It's about one seventy five and has big red eyes."

They all blinked at him for a moment before Yuugi gasped, the blood falling from his face as he realised what Honda was talking about.

"What, you mean the other Yuugi?" asked Jounouchi. "Yeah, you're right, clothes and stuff are expensive… Na, Bakura, you've gotta think about that too, huh?"

"But it isn't so hard in my case," said Ryou, glancing back at Bakura. "I live alone – I can just forget to tell my father about any of this."

Yuugi bit his lip, looking down at Atemu, who had opened his eyes again to gaze up at him. Yuugi hesitated, then managed a weak smile. "Well… Dad's no problem, he's never home, so he doesn't have to know… and…"

Atemu shrugged, closing his eyes to return to his lazy, regal doze. "As soon as the Ishtahls work out what happened in the chamber, we'll have a logical explanation for everything. And even if we don't, then we'll just explain what we do know and she'll have to accept it."

"You always have to make complicated problems sound incredibly simple, don't you?" commented Yuugi, but Atemu's only answer was a smirk. Yuugi sighed, turning to look at the others. "I guess he's kinda right, though. The truth's the only option we've got."

"It'll just be a little more jarring when you come home with six broken bones," pointed out Anzu, and Yuugi bowed his head with a wince.

"There has to be some way to fix that," said Ryou, frowning slightly. "Your dark magic was converted into Duel Monsters, right, Atemu-kun?"

The group collectively scowled as the light and the few monitors still strapped to Yuugi failed for a few seconds, but otherwise ignored it.

"In a sense," said Atemu, his eyes still closed.

"Well, life points are like your real life in Duel Monsters, ne?" he asked, looking around at the official Duellists for answers. "With certain cards, you can recover life points. So… shouldn't that mean there is dark magic that can—"

"—heal the player, yeah!" finished Jounouchi, jumping to his feet. He grinned, clenching his fists as he turned to Atemu. "He's right! It's like in Noah's world, where the damage done to the player was real pain. So all we gotta do is –"

"Idiot," muttered Bakura, and they all stopped, looking around at him. He scowled, raising his gaze to look back at them. "You're talking about a card game. It's more complicated in reality."

"No way, it's the same," said Honda, frowning at him. "You can use cards –"

"He's right," said Atemu. They looked back around at him, and he shrugged, his eyes still closed. "Duel Monsters adapted some of the skills we have in Dark Magic, but if you remember its original incarnations in Magic and Wizards, it set all players as Wizards. Dark wizards."

"Using evil magic," added Bakura, smirking. "We're not White Magicians, boys and girls. Pegasus could spin his fairy tales, but Dark Magic is always bad magic."

"So it's not possible to heal people with it?" asked Anzu.

"No, it is. Just not on people like our cute little midget," he said, and Atemu sighed in slight irritation, opening his eyes to explain.

"There's a risk involved. If it were myself who were badly injured, then it would merely be a matter of whether the energy lost were worth the extra week of mobility," he said, waving his bandaged wrist as if to dismiss the idea. "However, mortal souls are… greyer than my own. I am one of the dark, so dark magic works well with me. In one such as aibou, who is… shall we say…"

"Disney's Snow White?" offered Bakura, ignoring the strange look Ryou gave him.

Atemu shrugged, clearly not wanting to use it but finding nothing better. "… better suited to light magic," he said finally, "the darkness may actually make things worse."

"Ah!" said Anzu, blinking at Yuugi suddenly. "Back then, in that duel against Bakura!"

Atemu frowned, looking around at Yuugi in concern while Jounouchi gasped. The blond nodded quickly. "Your deck was all light and earth monsters, right? There weren't any dark-types."

"You _duelled _Bakura?" muttered Atemu, but Yuugi just glanced at him absently before frowning at the others.

"I was going to use dark monsters," he said defensively. "The Destructive Dragon was Dark. I could handle dark magic."

"That's not the probability," said Bakura, then shrugged. "But hey, I'm always up for death and torment. Move it, kiddies, I'll do this one."

"Take a step and it'll be a dark game," snapped Atemu, and Bakura snickered as he leaned back against the wall.

"Just offering…"

"So, we could take the risk that Yuugi is strong enough to stand the darkness," said Atemu, his tone clearly stating his stance on that idea, "or we can merely wait for the mortal medicine to do its work."

"Or," Honda added pointedly, "we could do a little of both. Try and fix something that isn't in a cast, like the sprained wrist, or the ribs, or something. If he's still okay after that, then try something bigger."

"The ribs!" said Yuugi, raising his cast-covered arm in a feeble wave. "They hurt, let's fix them!"

"No," snapped Atemu. "If it makes them worse, they could put a hole in your lungs and I am _not _risking your life on an experiment."

"Don't worry, Mother Hen, I'll be fine," he said, but Atemu just glared at him.

"I am not being a Mother Hen, and you are being far too flippant," he said irritably. "You almost died, aibou."

"No, I didn't, and we're not talking about then, we're talking about now," he pointed out, then turned back to Bakura. "Since he won't do it, I guess that does leave you…"

"No!" Atemu pushed Yuugi back against the pillows, ignoring his grimace of pain and crossing his arms decisively. "We are not using dark magic on you, and that's final!"

* * *

"How did you talk me into this?" muttered Atemu, as he climbed back up onto the bed. Sugoroku had gone back to the hotel after much prodding from Yuugi, and somehow, over the time between the end of visiting hours and midnight, Yuugi had convinced his other self that the dark magic was worth the risk.

Yuugi grinned, shifting his arm so Atemu could straddle his waist. "Because under the new skin and name, you're still the good and wonderful other me that cares about me and wants me to be healthy."

"Or it could be the three hours of whining I've put up with since the others left," he added, carefully placing his hands over the bruised skin of Yuugi's chest. "Now, though, you listen to me, alright?"

Yuugi blinked, smiling expectantly. "Mm?"

"You tell me the second you start to feel any new pain. The _instant _you feel _uncomfortable_," he corrected quickly, eyeing him seriously. "No pretending it doesn't hurt, no being strong or brave or just plain idiotic, understand me?"

He nodded happily. "I hurt, I say 'ow', gotcha."

"This isn't a joke, aibou!"

"Yes, yes, I'm serious," he said, smiling reassuringly. "My health is important. I will be good and take care of it."

Atemu frowned at him for another moment, then slowly lowered his eyes and began concentrating his magic. He had never been much of a healer, and in the back of his mind he was begging Sugoroku to suddenly deincarnate back into Shimon to do it for him, but he did know the basics of mending bones. He wasn't fool enough to touch Yuugi's shattered foot, but he knew he could do the ribs. Probably.

Maybe.

"How's that?" he asked cautiously, as he started to feel his magic settle around the molecules of Yuugi's bones. "Does it hurt?"

"No… it's… tingly," he said, smiling thoughtfully. "Like when you touch a place that should be really ticklish, except you can't tickle yourself, so it just feels weird…"

Atemu smiled, shaking his head. "You have some of the strangest analogies I've ever heard, aibou."

"That's just because you're used to everyone referencing gods and…" He trailed off, blinking, and Atemu slowed his magic.

"What?"

Yuugi didn't speak for a moment, and his eyes slid shut, his next breath let out in a strange kind of sigh.

"Aibou?"

His closed his mouth, his brow furrowing into an even stranger expression, his shoulders rising as he let out a very soft moan.

Atemu frowned, straightening a little, but didn't stop. Yuugi didn't _sound _like he was in pain… "Aibou? Aibou, talk to me," he ordered. "What's happening?"

"That… that feels so…" He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze lazy in a way Atemu could vaguely recognise, but not from Yuugi. He smiled, closing his eyes again with another quiet mumble. "It's good…"

He hesitated, dimly aware that dark magic rarely felt any kind of 'good', but since Yuugi wasn't objecting, he couldn't really find any reason to stop. He felt the first rib bone seal itself up, and the other was beginning to follow, so he just shook his head and refocussed.

"Wait," Yuugi said suddenly, raising his bandaged hand. "Wait, wait –"

He paused, not withdrawing but still watching Yuugi carefully. He had stopped smiling, and his eyes had snapped open, wide and worried.

"Wait, wait… stop, stop, _stop_, STOP!" he cried, and Atemu jerked his hands back, but Yuugi continued to pant, groaning in pain. "Stop it! The other me, _STOP_!"

"I did!"

"Argh… my heart, it…!"

Atemu stared at him frantically for a split second, then back down at Yuugi's chest, his eyes narrowed as he tried to search out what was going on. After a moment, he saw it – a tiny sliver of dark magic had pulled itself free of his control; a shadow no bigger than Yuugi's hand was wrapping itself around Yuugi's centre, pulling on him… feeding on him.

He glared at it, then pressed his hand flat over Yuugi's heart. "My name is Atemu," he muttered, then curled his fingers and _yanked_. The shadow ripped away with a small protesting whine, but under the power of the pharaoh's name had no choice but to slide back into his form, leaving Yuugi to gasp down a breath and fall back against the bed.

Atemu sighed, sitting still for a moment while he considered what had just happened. The darkness itself didn't seem to hurt Yuugi – dark magic going through his system was nothing new, so it probably shouldn't have surprised him so much. But the darkness _had _reacted to Yuugi. That was the only possible reason for it to split off and try to feed.

But no wonder. He could feel the warmth of Yuugi's soul just as the shadow had. After the cold darkness of his own soul, a warm, light source of energy was like sweetest ambrosia.

Hell, it had him addicted, it was only logical for the same to be said of his magic.

He sighed, shifting forward to lay his hand over the side of Yuugi's face. "Aibou? Are you alright?"

His eyes opened at the contact, and he smiled up at him wearily. "Mm. It just hurt, for a second there."

"I told you this was a bad idea," he said, but Yuugi shook his head.

"Mm-mm. It felt really good at first," he murmured, and turned his head into Atemu's palm, nuzzling it in gratitude. "But that was just… too much, too fast, or something…"

Atemu gazed at him for a long moment, then smiled and leaned forward to press his lips against Yuugi's forehead. He stiffened at first, but when Atemu pulled back he smiled, accepting it the same way he had Atemu's lack of personal space.

"I'm sorry, aibou," he whispered. "I'm not going to risk that again."

"It's okay," he said tiredly. "Kind of wore me out… Are you okay?"

"Actually, I'm…" He blinked, suddenly recognising how healthy he felt. He raised his eyebrows, swinging his leg over so he was sitting beside Yuugi rather than on him, and shrugged. "I actually feel… better."

Yuugi frowned. "That's normal?"

"No," he said, and leaned down to lie beside him, frowning thoughtfully. "Healing magic is not my forte. If memory serves, the last time I did something like this, I had to spend several hours in bed."

"Well… maybe it's because… um…" Yuugi blinked wearily, struggling to stay awake. "I have no idea."

"No… go to sleep, aibou, we'll think in the morning."

"Mm…"


	3. Implausible Theory

**Akh**

_**Chapter Three – Implausible Theory**_

**DISCLAIMER:** Humdah on exposition. That's all I can say. Humdah.

* * *

As much as he hated being away from Yuugi for so long, Atemu had been forced into spending the day away from the hospital. After being forced into buying a few outfits he had decided never to wear after they returned to Japan and he could buy some real clothing, Anzu, Jounouchi and the others had led him around the city.

He didn't see the logic, but everyone seemed to believe he needed some separation time from Yuugi, or vice versa. Either way, now dressed in a pair of loose white pants and a red shirt that Anzu told him was 'so him', he returned to the hospital the hour before visiting hours were up, intending to complain and ask Yuugi to tell them all to leave him alone.

However, when he walked into Yuugi's room, it was to find Yuugi's bed already surrounded by visitors: Kaiba, Mokuba, Malik and Ishizu were all crowded around Yuugi, who was reading a thick sheet of paper on a clipboard.

"What's going on?" demanded Atemu, as he and the others stepped inside.

Yuugi glanced up at him, but didn't smile before looking back down at the paper. Atemu scowled at Malik, who was scrawling Arabic over Yuugi's broken foot with a thick permanent marker. "Malik?"

"We're going over some technicalities and legal issues," he said vaguely, not even looking up. "You aren't supposed to be here."

"Why not?"

"Separation time? You're getting one hell of an attachment complex," he said playfully, but Atemu just glared at him. He chuckled. "But seriously, Yuugi-kun's only supposed to have four visitors at a time, remember."

"What is going on here?"

"Just legal stuff," Yuugi said distractedly. "You don't need to worry about it right now."

"Legal stuff?" repeated Jounouchi, leaning over Atemu's shoulder. "What kind of legal stuff?"

"Forging documents," explained Mokuba. "Making up reasons for the hospital to not keep records of…" He trailed off, then gestured at Atemu.

"Go back to the hotel," said Yuugi, shrugging. "I'll call you guys later."

"Aibou, what…" Atemu frowned, noticing a look rarely visible in Yuugi's eyes. "What's wrong? What's happened?"

"Nothing," he said distractedly, still staring at the paper. "I'll call you."

Atemu hesitated, then slowly nodded and turned back to the others. "If I don't hear from you by ten –" he said, the end of the sentence clear. Yuugi just nodded vaguely, and Atemu frowned again, before motioning for the others to follow him out.

* * *

"This is all a bit odd, don't you think?"

Atemu looked up from his attempt to look stoic and uncaring to look at Ryou, who was sitting beside Bakura with his arms and legs folded. They had gathered in one of the hotel apartments for a room-service dinner, and were now sitting around the lounge room while they waited for it. "What is?"

"What Yuugi-kun said back at the hospital," he said. "If they were forging documents, then wouldn't they have needed me there? Because of the spirit of the Ring?"

"Bakura," the thief corrected absently. He seemed insistent that they call him that, and Ryou by his given name.

"That's what I was thinking," agreed Anzu. "It didn't look like he was reading legal things either. He actually looked like he understood it – Yuugi can barely figure out the school admission contract."

"But then what could it be?" wondered Honda, leaning back to gaze up at the ceiling, as if it held their answer. "If it wasn't legal, and involved Kaiba and the Ishtahls…?"

"I guess it could have been –" began Anzu, but she was cut off by the sound of the bell, and sighed as she stood up. "I'll get it. Anyone have money left for a tip?"

Sugoroku grunted, but kept his head in his book as he dug a note from his pocket. She took it on her way past, leaving the boys to consider.

"Maybe it was like a reason for the whole—" Jounouchi made a random gesture toward Atemu. "—thing."

"Again, why was Ryou not involved," said Bakura.

"Why wasn't _I _involved?" added Atemu. "But anyway, speculation is redundant. Aibou will call me as soon as he's finished with it, and then I'll know."

"Yeah, I guess," Honda said slowly, but Jounouchi continued to frown.

"How can you be so calm about this?" he asked, irritated. "We all know what happens when Yuugi keeps secrets! It's always a bad idea."

He looked at him sideways, then around at the others, a little surprised that none of them seemed to have picked up on his apprehension. Since Yuugi had always been able to notice it straight away, he had assumed his emotions were obvious outside the duelling field. He shrugged, deciding to leave them with that theory. "I trust my aibou. If there is something wrong, I will know about it."

There was a pause as the others exchanged glances, before Anzu appeared through the doorway, leading two men who were pushing three trolleys through to the dining area. They set the plates out, Jounouchi's serving taking up two places rather than one, accepted Anzu's tip, then bowed to the group and left without a word.

"Come on, there's no sense in worrying about possibilities when there's food to be eaten," said Anzu, and they nodded before getting up to join her at the table.

"My problem," said Jounouchi, around his first few mouthfuls, "is this whole thing. I mean, Yuugi, dude, no offence, but you and Bakura're supposed to be dead here. Isn't you being alive kinda…"

"Problematic?" finished Atemu, tactfully ignoring Jounouchi's having reverted to calling him 'Yuugi'. "Yeah, I talked to Ishizu about it last night. She said there's a possibility this is going to bring out a lot of dark power. Especially if certain vengeful spirits don't keep to themselves," he added darkly, glaring down the table to Bakura, who ignored him.

"So what're you thinking you're going to do, anyway?" Honda asked, looking between the two former spirits. "You're supposed to be dead and gone, two people just coming up out of nowhere is gonna be a bit of a problem."

"I boarded with my rabbit before, I'll do it again," said Bakura, and Ryou let out a heavy, resigned sigh.

"That's a question I need to ask aibou, and Grandfather Sugoroku," said Atemu, nodding to the old man, who smiled grimly.

"I hardly see any way for me to stop you returning to Japan with us," he said. "I daresay Yuugi would probably have something to say about it if I tried."

"Thank you…"

"So you're not going to try moving on anyway?" asked Honda. "I mean, you were gonna have to be solid for the Ceremonial Duel anyway, so no difference, right?"

He shrugged, gesturing to his mouth full of food rather than answer. It was an escape tactic, but the others either didn't notice or didn't care, because they fell silent for a minute before Anzu brought up the village market they had visited that day and conversation quickly turned to tourism. Atemu remained quiet, eating with one eye on the telephone in the corner, but when it finally did ring, Jounouchi was the closest and therefore the one to answer it.

"Oh, hey, Yuugi! Everything cool over there?"

The group fell silent, watching Jounouchi curiously for any hint of what had happened.

"Yeah, he is," he said, glancing at Atemu and shrugging. "Okay… okay… No, I got that. Hey Bakura?"

Ryou and the thief both looked up, and Jounouchi smirked. "_Ryou _Bakura," he said playfully, and Ryou sighed again.

"Yes?"

"Yuugi needs to talk to you for a second."

"What?" both Ryou and Atemu asked, Atemu slamming his fork down on the table.

Jounouchi shrugged. "Yuugi said he's gotta talk to Bakura first, then he'll explain what's going on."

They blinked, before Atemu turned to glare at Ryou. "What are you waiting for then? The faster he's done with you, the sooner we get answers!"

He flinched at the sudden irritation, but jumped to his feet regardless, hurrying over to take the phone from Jounouchi. "Hello? Yuugi-kun, what's the matter?" he asked, and paused to listen for a moment, before frowning and turning to walk away, toward the bedrooms. "Hold on, I'll just get away from the noise…"

Atemu felt his eyebrow twitch as Ryou quickly strode into one of the bedrooms, closing the door behind him, and the others exchanged glances.

"What was that about, Jounouchi?" Honda asked finally. "Why'd he ask for Bakura?"

"Ryou," corrected Bakura, in between mouthfuls.

"I dunno. He just said he had to square something away with Bakura before he could talk to anyone else," said Jounouchi, ignoring the thief's annoyed grunt. "But he did say we shouldn't bother going to the hospital tomorrow – he's gonna be doing stuff with Kaiba and Mokuba all day."

Atemu's eyebrow twitched again, quickly followed by the cheek below.

"This is getting a little weird," said Anzu, frowning. "What could –"

"WHAT!"

They all jerked, Sugoroku almost losing hold of his fork as they all spun around to stare at the closed bedroom door. Atemu glanced down at Bakura, expecting him to go see what had obviously disturbed Ryou, but he just continued watching the door, vaguely interested. It was Honda who slowly got to his feet and crept over to lean his ear against the wood.

There were nothing further for almost five minutes, but then Honda had to scramble away to not get caught out as Ryou calmly opened the door and walked over to Atemu, phone out. "Here you are, Atemu-kun," he said politely, then turned his eerily calm gaze to Bakura. "Let's go."

"Go, you say?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not –"

"I said _let's go_," he snapped, and they all stared as he openly glared at the thief, who just blinked twice before putting down his fork and standing up. Atemu took the receiver, still staring as Ryou smiled around at them all. "Anzu-chan, we'll see you when you get back to the suite. Good night everyone."

They all blinked in unison as he led Bakura out of the room, apparently heading to the hall where they could leave for the suite they had been sharing with Anzu and Otogi. They continued to stare for several seconds before Atemu suddenly jerked back to reality and snatched the phone up to his ear. "Aibou?"

"Hello, the other me," came the weary reply. "How's Ryou-kun?"

"Ry- oh. Fine, just a little… odd," he said finally, then shoved himself up from the table to walk away, toward the bedroom they had declared Yuugi-when-he-gets-out-of-hospital's and therefore his. "Aibou, what's going on? Why are you being so secretive?"

"Ahh… to tell you that, I'd have to tell you everything," he said, then giggled. "It's not in my nature to be mysterious, but I can't tell you and I can't tell you why! Ocean's Twelve – terrible movie, good line."

"Aibou, not now," he said irritably, and Yuugi laughed.

"Sorry, sorry. But actually, it's true. I don't think this is really something I should tell you over the phone. I just had to tell Ryou-kun because he has a Right to Know."

"And I don't?" he snapped, as he slammed the door shut behind him.

"Mm… maybe," he said, then sighed. "Truth is, the other me, I kinda need you here to –"

"Why didn't you say that before? I'll be –"

"No, no!" He laughed again, and Atemu frowned, stepping away from the door. He could almost hear the resigned smile on Yuugi's face. "I meant that right now, I'm kind of procrastinating about dealing with it myself. If I tell you, then I'm going to have deal with it, and I think I'll need you there for that."

He hesitated, then turned around to sit down on the bed, sighing hard as he covered his eyes with his hand. "Aibou, you know I don't like it when you keep secrets."

"Mm. But think of it as payback for all those times you kept _your _problems to yourself," he said playfully, and Atemu huffed out a laugh.

"Yeah…" He lowered his eyes, smile fading. "I think they're right about me, aibou."

"Hm?"

"I think they're right. I think I might be getting an attachment complex… I'm not thinking clearly without you," he said softly, but Yuugi didn't answer, just let out a breath that was barely audible over the phone. Atemu hesitated, then looked out of the corner of his eye, as if he could see Yuugi through the receiver. "Can I come back to the hospital tomorrow?"

"Mm," he said quietly. "Mm… I miss you too."

They were quiet a moment, before Yuugi grunted. "Aw, dammit."

"What?"

"Well, for one thing I still haven't gotten the hang of this cast and just spilt my tea all over me," he said irritably, and Atemu smiled. "For another… we aren't supposed to be doing this."

"Doing what?"

"Needing each other," he said lowly. "I'm not supposed to miss you. I told myself I was okay with it, you know…"

He hesitated, then nodded. "So did I," he murmured. "I guess we lied."

"Dammit," he muttered, and Atemu frowned. 'Damn' wasn't an uncommon word for Yuugi to mutter in his sentences, but it was usually when something bad had happened. 'Dammit' was more unusual, reserved for situations where Yuugi felt he had made a more terrible mistake.

"More tea?" he asked warily, but again, Yuugi didn't answer at first.

After a moment, Atemu sensed the fake smile flitter across the line. "Yeah. Tea. All over me," he said weakly. "So, anyway, the other me! How was Cairo? Did you buy lots? I saw your new clothes – the shirt was a nice colour!"

Atemu didn't bother to call him on the lie.

* * *

Rather than take his usual place beside Yuugi, Atemu had pushed himself up to sit cross-legged on the very end of the bed. He remained silent while the others had the usual morning conversation with Yuugi—asking if he was any better, whether he wanted them to hang around, if they could come by later tonight—and waited for several minutes after the door had closed behind them all, just watching.

They had two hours before Kaiba and the others would turn up with the final 'legal documents' Yuugi said they were creating. Yuugi was avoiding his gaze, picking at the cast on his arm rather than meet Atemu's gaze.

"It's about me, isn't it?" Atemu asked quietly. "What's bothering you; it's about me."

Yuugi hesitated, then nodded once.

"Is it that I'm here?" he asked. "Is this a problem?"

He furrowed his brow, grimacing slightly. "The other me… I don't know."

"What?"

"I don't know whether it is or not," he said, shaking his head helplessly. "And I don't know what to tell you."

Atemu frowned, shifting his knee up to prop an arm on. "Then just start at the beginning. Do you know how Bakura and I are here, yet?"

"Well… kind of," he said evasively. "It's a theory, really, nothing definite."

"A theory is better than nothing," he replied, motioning for him to continue.

Yuugi sighed in resignation, leaning back against his pillows. "They're not sure exactly _why _it happened – there had to be a kind of… emotional reason, and they don't know what that could be. But Ishizu-san and Malik-kun think that maybe rather than risk you losing the duel and being forced to leave, your magic kind of… rebelled against you."

He frowned, tilting his head in confusion. "Rebelled against me?"

"Mm. It was supposed to make you a temporary body – basically a copy of what you usually look like when you take over my body," he explained, absently gesturing to himself . "But because the magic didn't want to risk you leaving, it exploded at full power. Whatever it was trying to do, it did that and more. Malik-kun thinks that because it was supposed to be making a new body for you, it did anyway, but it made the best you it could, rather than the temporary thing it was supposed to make."

Atemu continued to frown, glancing down at his own arm. "That can't be. Not even my dark magic can create life. It's just not done," he said, his eyes widening in emphasis. "It… The creation of life is purely a matter for the gods – and only specific gods, at that. Man has no business doing it, not even pharaohs. They shouldn't, so they can't."

Yuugi raised his eyebrow, inwardly wondering whether that was something Atemu believed himself or whether he'd been paying attention during the semester Yuugi's literature class read Frankenstein. "They didn't create life."

He raised his own eyebrow, matching Yuugi's blank look for a pointed one.

"The other me… Actually, um…" He frowned, looking around for the clipboard Kaiba had given him yesterday, and reached over to snatch it off the top of the heart monitor. He held it out to Atemu, who took it with a confused glance. "It explains it all on there, but basically… what it comes down to is… well… the other me, see, what you are is not… I mean, you are alive, but you're not… a life."

"Aibou," Atemu said calmly, in a voice that his mother usually used moments before whacking him over the head with a ladle. "Apart from the last week, the last time I breathed with my own lungs was about three thousand years ago."

"Yeah…" He frowned, furrowing his brow for a moment before sitting up again. "Okay, you know Kaiba-kun's solid visions?"

Atemu blinked once, which Yuugi took to mean he was listening. "You know how they're made? With like, the wind from the machine kicking up all the surrounding dust and stuff and compacting it into solid-ish forms and then reflecting light on them so they look real?"

He nodded. In the last term of school, Yuugi's physics teacher had been thrilled to introduce his class to a science most of them would actually be interested in by showing them how Jounouchi's duel disk worked. While he usually floated in the nothing of the puzzle while Yuugi was at school, Atemu had spent that entire lesson sitting on the teacher's desk, attentive and curious. He had spent most of the night after muttering about how irritating it was that something so ingenious as the Duel Disk could come from such a complete and utter bastard.

"Well… what the shadows did was basically… evolve that," Yuugi said finally, nodding at the word. "They took a bunch of dark magic, sand, dust and dirt from the chamber and compacted it all into human form. It… Kaiba-kun thinks that they even copied a human's insides, like your stomach and lungs and stuff, so that you work like a normal human being. But the fact is, that despite the illusion and field the magic put up to make you _like_ a normal human being, you're… basically…" He waved his bandaged hand hopelessly, trying to think of a more positive way to put it, but Atemu beat him to it.

"Compacted dust."

"Well… yeah," he said, wincing. He glanced at Atemu, who was staring at him with a mixture of disgust and disbelief. He jumped to continue. "But, the basic result is that you are – in, um – when you get down to it, I mean – you are human, it's just… while humans are made from living cells and junk, you're made from… dead cells and junk."

Atemu continued to stare at him for a long moment, then raised his eyebrows, sitting back with an amused breath. "Which is rather fitting; me _being _dead, after all."

They just gazed at each other blankly for a moment, before Atemu huffed out a disbelieving laugh and Yuugi grinned. "Anyway. No one—not even you—would really be able to tell the difference. The darkness probably did as good a job as they could to make you seem utterly human, so the feel of your skin and all your interactions'll be the same as anyone else's."

"Fair enough," he said, and leaned back on his right hand, absently flexing his left as well as the bandages would allow. "What I don't understand is… Well, actually, there's several things I don't understand."

"What?"

"Well, first off, why would the magic have done that?" he asked, frowning at him. "It doesn't make logical sense. For the past year, I've known what I had to do – collect the God Cards, hold them up to the tablet, get my memory back and move on. If I did anything else, then I would have had to stay in the Millennium Puzzle and you never would have had a normal life."

Yuugi blinked at this last point, frowning. "What was that?"

"Aibou, I might be wrong, but I daresay that as long as I'm here, the darkness is too," he said dryly. "It's very hard to have a normal life when the world is in peril, you know."

"The other me," he said, smiling despite himself. When it wasn't being used to tease him, Yuugi usually enjoyed Atemu's sense of humour. He quickly sobered though, giving him a serious look. "Come on. It's not about me having any kind of life. You had to go back because it was your duty. It had nothing to do with me."

"Hm," he said vaguely, and Yuugi frowned. He opened his mouth to argue the point, but Atemu cut him off before he could even start. "Second problem is that this does all explain my presence, but not Bakura's."

"Oh! Mm," he said, nodding with the new topic and happily changing tack. "It's because of his connection to the Millennium Puzzle – that Attached Mind or whatever he called it."

Atemu raised his eyebrows, surprised. "Of course… that makes perfect sense. The Parasite Mind allows anything that happens to the puzzle to happen to him. It's how he got into the Memory RPG with us…"

"Mm. But it affected me worse than it did Bakura – I mean, _Ryou-kun_," he corrected, smiling slightly at the new joke. "It was worse for me because to make the new bodies, a lot of energy was needed, so the dark magic drew on the source it was most familiar with – the one who solved the Millennium Puzzle."

"So that's why it knocked you out," he realised, and Yuugi nodded once.

"Course, it couldn't take it all from me, or it'd kill me and so all that energy would fail and the bodies wouldn't form," he said. "So it borrowed from Bak- Ryou-kun, too."

Atemu nodded, frowning at him in guilty concern, but Yuugi just grinned to reassure him, and he continued with his last question. "Okay. Why don't I – that is to say –" He frowned again, looking up at Yuugi. "According to my memories and all that's happened, I am Atemu. But right now, I don't _look _like Atemu. I was much shorter as Atemu, and… my face is too long, and… and my eyes were never red unless I was – the point is, my current appearance raises the question –"

"You had red eyes?"

He pursed his lips, wondering if he could escape answering, but eventually sighed. For someone as easy to influence as Yuugi was, he could impossibly stubborn when he wanted to be. Might as well answer now, rather than put up with constant questioning. "My dark magic was… stronger than it should have naturally been. At times I would… lose control. Once, my wrestling partner almost dislocated my shoulder, and I was so furious with him, I –" He stopped, cutting himself off before he could remember what he'd seen when he calmed down. "If I was emotional enough, sometimes the darkness would control my actions."

"Like Doma?"

He grimaced, his eyes narrowing further at the thought. "No. And my eyes would apparently turn red."

Yuugi hesitated a moment, reluctant to show expression until he smiled, apparently letting it go. "You're right – you don't look like you used to—or at least, the way we think you looked, judging on the person we saw in the Memory RPG and all. That's because you can't have your old body anymore, because you don't have what links you to that body."

There was a pause, and Atemu blinked again. "What?"

He smiled, shrugging helplessly. "I don't really understand it, myself. But… from what Ishizu-san said, what you basically did in the real battle with Zorc was seal yourself, the dark power, and the one to carry that power—the thief king—into the Millennium Items. But you can't lock a human body in a piece of gold, so you could only seal the spirits of you and the thief king," he said, frowning in confusion at his own words. "So… that apparently left the human parts of you to… kinda… do whatever it is humans do without spirits."

Atemu nodded slowly. "When Diaha was introduced, we changed our religion slightly to suit it. The 'spiritual half'—the ka—usually referred to the monsters we duelled with. But it also was our soul. If the ka was completely destroyed—its tablet broken for example—the akh would be split in half, leaving only the ba, which would… die without its other half."

"Really?" asked Yuugi, blinking curiously. "That's kinda what Ishizu-san said happened to you, only she said that the human half reincarnated. It became a new person in a new life."

Atemu frowned. "But without the spiritual half, it would have just died again."

"Mm. Infant death, probably," he said, oddly offhand. Atemu frowned at the atypical tone, but Yuugi was still talking. "Then it reincarnated again. And again, and again, until it eventually evolved enough to survive."

"Again, though… even if it changed enough to survive, it would have been… helpless," he said, frowning. "It wouldn't have had the confidence the soul inspires. It would have been open to all mental attacks, just accepting of everything… It probably would have died by its own hand before long."

Yuugi's smile became rather fixed as he nodded. "Mm. Ishizu-san said it probably did die again, and again, and kept reincarnating, waiting to find what it was missing even when it had grown into an almost functioning soul. We think it'll probably keep doing that until it meets you. In this life or the afterlife."

Atemu frowned, and they gazed at each other thoughtfully for several moments, until Yuugi shrugged, letting it go.

"So, the basic end to all of this is that you've now got the choice as to whether you want to take this and keep living as a human, or if you want to go back to the ceremonial chamber and try Duelling," he said, looking off to the side. "Ishizu-san thinks it'll be the same result in this body as the temporary one you were supposed to have, only you'll have to drag Bakura-kun's dark character into the afterlife with you. Kaiba-kun's prepared to make up some fake documents if you want to stay. I'm not sure why, he keeps talking about equivalent exchange or Battle City or something."

He hesitated, his eyes narrowing as his mind began nagging at him curiously. "I see."

"Ba- Ryou-kun doesn't really care what happens to his other self, because he doesn't really know him," he continued. "He says he's not going to tell him everything until you've made your decision. But since we're going back to Japan in eight days—" He raised his bandaged hand in a thankful cheer. "—he was kind of hoping you could decide kinda soonish."

Atemu continued gazing at him for a moment. "And that's all they told you last night?"

He hesitated for a fraction of a second, but nodded once. Atemu could see the lie, and continued watching him seriously, but Yuugi apparently refused to acknowledge it, because he just gazed back at him with a mild smile.

"If I did decide to go back," he said slowly. "Who would I be duelling?"

"Hm?"

"Obviously, you're in no condition to do so," he said, carefully placing his hand on Yuugi's broken foot in what would have been a comforting gesture if not for his expression. "Who would I be duelling?"

"Um… I don't know," he said honestly, blinking. "Kaiba-kun, probably. He'd never let Jounouch-kun do it. I probably could do it, you know. It just might… take some doing to get me there."

"So… perhaps it would be best to leave it, for now," he suggested, would-be offhand. "The chamber will still be here in oh, say, a year, and now that I'm not impeding your life and mind there's nothing to say I have to move on…"

"The other me, you don't have to –" he began, but Atemu just shook his head firmly.

"To tell you the truth, aibou… I don't want to do this any more than I have to," he said bluntly, and Yuugi straightened up in surprise. "I don't want to have to do this a thousand times, aibou. I don't want to keep duelling every opponent that thinks he can beat me."

Yuugi blinked, frowning at him. "I get that, but… you always have to struggle to beat Kaiba-kun… he might –"

"Kaiba can't beat me, aibou."

Yuugi's frown deepened. There was no false bravado in Atemu's voice; he didn't even look triumphant. Just tired and a little exasperated. Yuugi hesitated, lowering his head but keeping Atemu's gaze.

"I know I can defeat Kaiba," he continued. "I could do it before, with just the God Cards, and now I have my old powers and ability… it's just a matter of how _fast_ I can get his life points to zero."

Yuugi bit his lip, nodding. "And Jounouch-kun…"

"Jounouchi… Jounouch-kun is an excellent duellist, and I am proud of how far he's come," he said softly, looking away. "But this is beyond him. He's a worthy challenger for an ordinary duel, but for this, it's just—"

"—too much," he finished, nodding his reluctant agreement. "I know, he's – I know."

They were silent a moment, before Atemu slipped off the bed, moving over to instead push himself up beside Yuugi's hip, taking Yuugi's hand into both of his own. "But you're different. I may have never duelled you, but… As much as I never wanted to admit it, I could always hear you."

"Hear me?"

"Ever since we duelled Pegasus, I could hear you in the back of my head," he said, smiling weakly. "You weren't always awake, and you didn't know you were doing it, but I could always hear your strategies. Some of my best moves were yours. Especially in Noah's world."

He stared, wide-eyed, and Atemu sighed. "I… I know you have the ability to defeat me, aibou. The luck and timing, I'm not sure about, but… you definitely have the ability," he said reluctantly. Admitting anyone was stronger than him, let alone his aibou, was something he had never been comfortable with. "Kaiba puts too much emphasis on power. Jounouchi relies on luck, which isn't enough when the opponent is at my level, with my power. So if I'm going to do this, aibou, the only person worthy of my single challenge… is you."

Yuugi continued to stare at him in open disbelief. "You… you really believe that?"

"What kind of a question is that?" he demanded, before Yuugi lunged forward and he gasped, suddenly supporting a heavy weight and an equally heavy cast over his shoulder. He blinked, vaguely registering that Yuugi was hugging him, but he was too shocked to respond before Yuugi pulled away again, smiling broadly, tears in his eyes. Atemu's jaw worked silently for a moment, but Yuugi just grinned, raising his hands to his chest in excitement.

"Okay! I'll be the one to duel you. As soon as I'm completely better, we'll come back here and go to the chamber and duel," he said decisively. "I'll duel you at my very best, I promise!"

He shook himself out of his pleasant shock to smile, holding up a stalling finger. "Ah, aibou, wait and think about this. How much did it cost to get to Egypt? Can you really afford that twice in what, four months?"

"Oh… um…" he said weakly, reality checking back with him.

"And besides, if Ishizu's theory about me having a human half out there somewhere is true," he said, eyeing Yuugi's hidden reaction carefully, "I want to find him."

Yuugi's expression was carefully blank for the moment he registered that, before he smiled and nodded. "So what're we going to do?"

"I suggest a year," he said. "One year for you to recover and me to find the funds to get us here… and this other half."

Still Yuugi didn't so much as flicker, and the back of Atemu's mind began wondering if he was right.

"Mm… I'm sure Bakura-kun can take one year," Yuugi said thoughtfully, before he nodded again. "Okay! A year!"

Atemu extended his hand, and Yuugi grinned, taking it as best he could with his left hand. Atemu smiled as they shook. "Agreed, my aibou."

* * *

"How can you say, we cannot see him?"

For a moment, it seemed as if the doctor was going to ignore Atemu's snappish demand, but his accent was so thick that even Anzu had trouble understanding his English. It took an extra few seconds, but eventually the doctor turned to look at him with an only slightly apprehensive smile.

"Just for a few days," he said loudly, as if that would help them understand him. Anzu felt her cheek twitch in irritation, but let him continue. "We need to adjust his casts and teach him how to use his wheelchair. It will be a very slow and painful process, and it would be best if we limit the visitors to only those that are necessary."

The boys, Yuugi included, all stared at him blankly. Blatantly ignoring hospital rules yet again, Jounouchi, Honda and Anzu had followed Atemu into Yuugi's room that morning, only to find themselves confronted with the Kaiba brothers and one of the more annoying doctors. The doctor, although nice enough, had trouble differentiating between the ability to speak English and having any intelligence whatsoever, and was now telling them that Yuugi would be off limits to everyone but Sugoroku and the Kaiba brothers for the next three days.

Honda turned to Anzu, silently asking for a translation, and she sighed.

"Basically, they want Yuugi to themselves for a few days so he'll learn to use his wheelchair faster," she said, and then glanced at the doctor before continuing. "It'll be painful, so they probably think they're doing us a favour by not having to watch Yuugi go through it."

"Ridiculous," snapped Atemu, setting his hand on his hip. "Who better to help aibou deal with pain and help him through this than me? I should be here!"

"The other me," Yuugi murmured, but Atemu ignored him.

"What does he mean 'necessary' visitors, anyway? Who's necessary?"

"Immediate family," said Anzu. "And they said Kaiba-kun, too."

"What? Why?"

"We're paying for it," said Mokuba, scowling at Atemu. "We gotta be able to see what we're paying for, y'know!"

"There are legal details that we have yet to finalise," Kaiba added, but his eyes were still closed as he leaned back against the wall, so he could have been ignoring them for all he looked like it. "They will require Yuugi's assistance."

"Kaiba, I have had enough of your legal details," growled Atemu. "Those legal details are my life, and yet you refuse to tell me anything about them. I will be there for any more decisions!"

"You, 'Yami', have no life," he replied coldly, opening his eyes with a disdainful lift of his eyebrow. "You are dead. Your _opinions _are of no use to me."

Atemu clenched his teeth, but Yuugi's hand on his stopped him from snapping back. He blinked once, then looked down at his aibou, who just squeezed his hand and turned back to Anzu.

"Can you ask him if it would be alright to just have one or two visitors at a time?"

She nodded, translating the question, but the doctor shook his head. "Any time he isn't in therapy should be spent resting. He's been through a great deal, and we really shouldn't be doing this so soon. I would much prefer he stay in bed for another week at least, but Mister Kaiba has ordered us to have him ready to fly…"

"They don't understand!" cried Atemu, after Anzu had finished translating. "By keeping me away they'll just make things worse!"

"We won't get in the way," said Jounouchi. "Tell him, Anzu! We'll be good and make sure Yuugi rests heaps!"

"Yeah, we won't even let him laugh!" said Honda. "C'mon, doc, please!"

Catching the drift, if not the words, the doctor continued to shake his head, shrugging helplessly. "I'm afraid that's just the way it has to be, kids."

They scowled, but Yuugi squeezed Atemu's hand in reassurance. "It'll be okay. It's just a few days, I mean – big deal, right?"

He glanced at him, but continued frowning worriedly. He wasn't sure why—it was irrational, since he and Bakura were the only connection to the Darkness, and that was the only real danger—but the idea of leaving Yuugi for three days caught something in his chest that he really didn't like.


	4. Decisions

**Akh**

**_Chapter Four – Decisions_**

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****

**DISCLAIMER:** Alright. Originally, I planned this as an interjection, meaning there was no real plot so much as it just told the story and gave an explanation for how Yami and Bakura started running around in their own solid bodies. And I think I've basically succeeded. However, this makes it feel unfinished, and I don't like that. So there is a possibility I'll add more chapters to this. But for the moment… Yeah. Sorry 'bout that.

* * *

The sun was shining; bright to the point that even Honda's expensive, darkest-tint Polaroids were rendered just serviceable. Everyone had agreed to go out and explore Cairo markets again – even Ryou, who had put himself into a self-imposed exile since talking to Yuugi. He was walking along with his hands in his pockets, his gaze lost in the middle distance, but he was there, which was a vast improvement over the last few days.

Jounouchi and Honda were leaping from store to store, cheering and talking at the top of their lungs about all the strange but oh-so-fabulous foods on display around them, while the others followed with slight smiles. Bakura was acting strangely as well, eyeing the surrounding stalls with an odd look, but only Atemu took the time to notice.

Unfortunately, he was feeling distracted himself. He felt… exposed, for lack of a better word; as if everyone was looking at him. He knew that was insane, because there were much more interesting things to see and do, and whenever he looked around, everyone was preoccupied with those things. But it still made him uncomfortable, and he rubbed his bare arms distractedly, trying to remove the feeling.

"Yu- Atemu? Are you coming?"

He blinked, suddenly realising everyone had moved to a small café-style building on the side of the road. He must have been standing still for a while, because Jounouchi, Honda and Anzu were all staring back at him, concerned.

"You okay, man?" asked Jounouchi, as Atemu turned to walk over. "You look kinda out of it."

"I'm fine," he said, and managed a small smile before turning to slip into the building. "Just thinking."

"Y'know, I've been doing some of that myself," said Jounouchi, grinning as if it were something to be proud of. You know how we have trouble remembering to call you by your name?"

He glanced at him as they slid into chairs around a large table just inside the building. "Yeah?"

"Well, at first I thought it was because you've always been Yuugi to us, right? And we're just used to calling you Yuugi and that works. But the more I think about it, the more Yuugi's just Yuugi, and you're just 'him' in my head, y'know?"

Atemu blinked, trying to sort that out, then slowly nodded. It did make some vague sense.

"So maybe it's like we _can't _call you by your real name because you don't _seem _to be the nameless pharaoh to us," suggested Jounouchi, as a waiter came over to give them menus they couldn't read. Anzu and Ryou muddled through guessing a few meals to have while the others continued talking.

"I suppose that makes sense," Atemu said, leaning his elbow on the table. "If what aibou tells me is true, then technically, I'm not the full incarnation."

"Right! So, I'm thinking, y'know, maybe you need a different name," he said excitedly. "Something we can use and think of as you, not just what we're supposed to call you. What d'you think?"

He frowned, shrugging vaguely. "I suppose. But isn't it disrespectful to ignore the name I was given?"

"What're we talking about?" asked Anzu, turning back to the table at large as the waiter walked away. "Names?"

"I'm telling him my idea about why we can never remember to call him by name," explained Jounouchi. "He thinks it's disrespectful to change it."

"I don't know if you can ever really change a name," said Ryou, giving Bakura a meaningful look. "You are who you are, and it's just who you think of yourself as that determines your name."

"Which is why Yuugi is always Yuugi, to the point that most people don't remember his family name," said Anzu. "And why I'm Anzu, but barely anyone knows Jounouchi's given name."

"But I think of myself as Atemu," said Atemu, glancing up at the suddenly flickering lights. "Doesn't that ruin your theory?"

"Not necessarily. I mean, you've only been Atemu for a few days," said Honda. "Are you sure you really do think of yourself like that? Are you sure you're not just, I don't know, the spirit of the puzzle?"

He frowned, his hand absently falling to hold the puzzle to his stomach. He had wanted to leave it with Yuugi, but the doctors said it would just prove a health hazard. He bit his lip, considering Honda's theory along with what Yuugi had told him, and Honda leaned forward, raising his eyebrows.

"You've only had a _name _for like a week," he continued arguing. "You've only had a _past _for a week. You never knew your name in Ancient Egypt, did you?"

"No…"

"See? All things considered, you've probably never thought of yourself with a name. You're probably just telling yourself you're 'Atemu' when really you're 'pharaoh'."

Atemu nodded, looking around the café for something else to focus on and give him time to think. "But that doesn't mean I won't come to think of myself like that. Given time, we could get used to it."

"Maybe. Maybe not," said Anzu, tilting her head toward him. "Didn't Yuugi say Kaiba was giving you a different name on the legal documents?"

"Yeah… Yami, wasn't it?" Jounouchi rolled his eyes. "I think you're supposed to match Yuugi's family's weird names or something."

"Yami Motou," Ryou said quietly. "And the spirit of the ring is 'Bakura Doroubou'."

"Nice," said Honda, grinning, and Bakura smirked.

"Doesn't that mean we have to get used to calling you Yami?" continued Anzu. "Just in keeping with the official things?"

He grunted, irritated with the reminder that Kaiba was crafting his life out of thin air. He hesitated, then sighed, shaking his head as he ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know," he said irritably, and leaned back in his seat, shifting uncomfortably. "Maybe. I don't care. I'll think about it later; you can leave it at 'hey you' for all I care right now."

They all stared at him for a moment, then exchanged worried glances, and Anzu leaned forward to look at him closely. "Are you sure you're alright? You're not acting like yourself."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded, frowning at her. "I'm fine."

Her eyes widened slightly even as her eyebrows furrowed further, but the arrival of their drinks kept her from saying anything more. They exchanged glances again, and Honda slowly picked up a new topic, suggesting they go visit one of the museums after lunch. Atemu drank slowly as he listened, trying to force himself to concentrate on his friends.

* * *

"Okay, seriously, he's really starting to worry me."

Honda nodded, watching carefully as Atemu wandered through the back of the antique shop, occasionally pausing to pick up an item or smirk to himself at an obvious forgery. Jounouchi stuffed his hand into the back pocket of his jeans, tilting his head appraisingly, and Anzu covered her mouth in thought.

Not that they could say he'd really been acting like the friend they knew and cared about since he had appeared from the Ceremonial Chamber, but they could only expect it. Even as a spirit, he had acted strangely when nervous or depressed. There had to be certain allowances made when his aibou was in hospital.

But since Yuugi had woken up, Atemu had calmed down and gone back to some semblance of his usual self, which could also only be expected. Yuugi was awake and well on the road to being fine, and they had quickly gotten some answers as to why Atemu was still alive and solid. There wasn't too much to worry about any more.

But it had been two days since the doctors had started refusing their access to Yuugi, and it was slowly becoming obvious that something about that was causing problems with Atemu. While he was clearly making more of an effort than he had right after waking up, he was becoming progressively more distracted. He had trouble focussing on long conversations, and would often lose track of what people were saying if they spoke too fast. Ryou had started speaking very slowly and clearly, and although that clearly irritated Atemu, Ryou was the only person he could talk to without having to ask for repetition of sentences.

"Maybe he's tired," suggested Anzu, glancing up at the other two. "I mean, the last week, he's pretty much just been lying around and sleeping. Maybe he wasn't ready for two whole days of walking around like this."

"Maybe. But Ryou and Bakura were all drained and stuff too, and they're okay," pointed out Honda. "They're tired, yeah, but they're not acting like someone yanked the carpet out from under them."

Jounouchi stared at the metaphor, then turned back to Anzu. "We gotta talk to Ishizu," he said firmly. "She'll know what's going on."

"Why do you think that?" she asked, and he shrugged.

"Well, we know it's probably not a normal sickness, 'cause Yuugi said Ya— Atemu was all like, dust and stuff, right? So it's probably got something to do with the creepy magic that's keeping him looking like more than dust and stuff," he said, looking to Honda for support in his theory. "I'm thinking maybe his magic isn't actually strong enough to do this. Otherwise he probably would've done it before."

Anzu bit her lip, glancing back to where Atemu was staring at a garish wall hanging. Aside from looking vaguely irritated—which he had been all day—he was also rubbing his temple with the knuckles of his bandaged hand.

"You think he's decomposing or something?" asked Honda.

"I don't know. I'm just thinking we need to find out what's going on quick, because if his magic _is _starting to lose it, I sure as hell don't know what'll happen to him," said Jounouchi, shifting his weight uncomfortably. "And as worried about him as I am, that ain't the worst part. Whatever it is ain't happening to the spirit of the ring. It's kinda been proved we're nothing compared to him, so even if Atemu just goes back to the puzzle again, who's gonna keep the thief in line while Yuugi's hurt?"

They frowned, looking over to where Ryou and Bakura were glaring at each other over the top of a ceramic pot, and Anzu covered her mouth again, suddenly scared.

Honda shook his head in an almost compulsive movement, setting his jaw decisively. "He isn't running wild again. I'm not gonna let him."

"And what are you gonna do, Meat Puppet?" Jounouchi asked dryly. "Punch him and get possessed again?"

"It doesn't matter what I'd do," he shot back, glaring at the reminder. "Because Yami's gonna get better, and so it doesn't matter. I'm not gonna worry about Bakura, because my friend matters to me more than what some –"

"Shh!" hissed Anzu, and Honda cut himself off, suddenly aware of Atemu walking towards them, obviously struggling to hide the fact he had a headache.

"I'm going back to the hotel," he announced when he came within speaking distance. "None of you need me for anything today, do you?"

"Nah, we're okay," said Jounouchi. "You?"

"Fine," he snapped, belying his own words with a wince and thick swallow of pain.

Honda hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward, clearing his throat. "You know what? I might head back too. I'm getting kinda hungry, and at least the room service menus come in Japanese."

Anzu opened her mouth to offer company, but Jounouchi grabbed her hand, shaking his head no. Atemu was in no mood to be coddled right now, and if they followed him around like they usually did, he would definitely notice their concern.

"Cool. We'll probably be back around six, yeah?" Jounouchi said loudly.

"Fine. Call if you want us," Atemu said shortly, already starting toward the exit.

Honda hesitated again, looking after him for a moment before muttering to the others, "I'll give Ishizu a call when we get to the hotel."

They nodded, and Jounouchi frowned, lowering his head to watch from under his hair as Atemu left. "Take care of him, okay?"

He grimaced, nodding once as he tapped the pocket with his mobile phone. "I got him," he promised, then turned and hurried out after Atemu.

* * *

Although they arrived only an hour after Honda called them, it took almost another hour before Atemu would even let Ishizu and Malik know that he was sick. Apparently, Yuugi's habit of claiming he was fine when he clearly wasn't had transferred into Atemu somewhere along the way, and he was much more stubborn when people started asking him personal questions.

He scoffed, folding his arms as he looked off to the side. "There is no need to be concerned, I'm fine," he snapped, pointedly ignoring Malik scoffing in the corner.

Ishizu sighed in irritation. It was very difficult to treat him with pharaonic respect when he was acting like a spoilt teenager. "Your body is only just over a week old. There are bound to be difficulties. In humans, headaches and lethargy are often warning signs of illness. They will be the same for you. You must allow us to investigate."

"I am not the one wrapped in casts and wearing an oxygen mask while I sleep," he said evenly. "_I_ am not the one whose energy was forcefully drained until it was too much work to breathe. Save your concern for those who need it."

"Your wrist should have healed by now," she replied, just as evenly. "Yet you still cannot use your left hand, can you?"

His eye twitched slightly, and he slid his hand further under the other arm to hide the bandage.

"Please, pharaoh, tell us what is happening to you so we might solve the problem," she said, her glare sharpening into that of a mother chastising her son. Like most teenagers, however, Atemu was adept at avoiding the gaze.

"I suppose we could call Yuugi-kun," Malik suggested casually. The effect was instantaneous, as Atemu stiffened, his bandaged wrist sinking completely out of sight behind the other arm. Malik looked around at Honda, smiling vaguely. "Describe all the symptoms you were telling us about, and see what Yuugi-kun thinks they might be. He knows the pharaoh better than us, he'd probably be able to guess what the symptoms actually mean."

"Yeah," agreed Honda, smirking as Atemu twitch again. "But then, Yuugi'd probably get all worried about him and want to see him, and that'd slow down his recovery, right? That's why the doctors said _we _can't see him – so Yuugi doesn't worry about our problems."

"But what else can we do?" Malik heaved a melodramatic sigh, shrugging helplessly. "If the pharaoh won't tell us, and we do need to know, after all…"

"Your subtlety is astounding," drawled Atemu, and Malik grinned at him.

"Like I said: we've gotta know. I'm not above extortion."

Atemu glared at him for a moment, then rolled his eyes back to Ishizu. "Yes, I am having trouble concentrating. Yes, I have migraines. Yes, I am tired. Yes, my wrist still hurts and I can't put any weight on it. That is as far as my symptoms extend. It means I haven't been sleeping well, thank you for your concern," he snapped, but Ishizu frowned thoughtfully.

"Please close your eyes," she said, and he raised an eyebrow. She smiled gently. "A mere test, pharaoh."

He scowled, but followed her instructions, and Ishizu stood up, motioning for Malik to move to the other side of the room as she walked over to the dining table. "Please tell me where Malik and I are standing?"

His scowl deepened, his brow furrowing in slight concentration. "Malik is standing where Honda was before. You are in front of Jounouchi's bedroom."

"Uh oh," said Malik, and Honda blinked.

"Um… not that he got it right—" Atemu's eyes snapped open, shocked at his mistake, but Honda continued regardless. "—but how would he have known anyway?"

"Dark magic uses human emotions, as that is how humans express their darkness," explained Ishizu, frowning as she walked back to her seat. "One such as the pharaoh should be able to sense where people are by sensing the emotions in the room."

"The fact that he got it wrong means something's screwy with his powers," said Malik, folding his arms with an appraising glance at Atemu. "That's what's probably messing with his new body. Meaning we have to figure out exactly what's going on or all hell could break loose."

Honda stared. "Huh?"

"I seal the darkness, I control the darkness," muttered Atemu, his words almost an irritated sigh. "If I can't focus my powers, I might lose control over them."

"Meaning something like Zorc might happen?" asked Honda, and the other three nodded. He paled, reaching up to hold his head as he leaned back against the wall. "Oh, man… what d'we do?"

They were silent for a moment, considering, and Atemu crossed his legs, lowering his head in thought as he said, "The first thing we need to do is discover the extent of my distraction. I can sense the thief – he feels like a beacon of darkness across the city… I think he's wearing the Ring. The Millennium Items… are faint. I can't pinpoint where they are exactly."

"I took them off Bakura when he was admitted to hospital," said Honda, jerking his thumb toward his bedroom. "Stuck them under my bed for safekeeping."

"The thief's stolen them," said Atemu, shaking his head. "I think they're in his room."

"I'll go check," said Malik. "He's in the other suite, right? You got a key for that one?"

Honda nodded, trotting over to grab the key card Anzu had left in the cupboard. He tossed it to Malik, who hurried out of the room, then looked around at Atemu. "Should we tell Yuugi about this? He—"

"No!" cried Atemu, uncrossing his arms and legs and almost shooting up out of his chair before he managed to catch himself. He hesitated, halfway to standing, then slowly sank back into the chair. "No. I don't want him to know, and especially not right now. He's got too much on his mind, but if he knows this he'll worry about me."

Honda frowned, tilting his head down at Atemu. "—is the one that gave the energy for this in the first place. Maybe he might have some clue."

"No," he repeated firmly. "He's already lying to me about something, and I know he'll lie more if he thinks he needs to worry about me."

Ishizu pursed her lips, absently smoothing her skirt to keep herself from tutting. The lengths Yuugi and Atemu went through to relieve each other of concern were ridiculous, and right now she was beginning to think they were causing more problems than not.

"You were right," said Malik, skidding back into the room. "By the look of it, someone took the Items. But judging by the beds, since I'm not exactly sure who's sleeping where, I don't know if the spirit of the Ring was the one that took them."

"What do you mean?" asked Atemu, and he shrugged.

"The Eye's the only one I could find, and that was on Bakura-kun—the normal Bakura-kun—his bed, I think. It was all neatly made and those pyjamas we bought him were folded on the pillow."

"Hang on a sec'," said Honda, trotting over to the room he was sharing with Jounouchi. He checked under the bed, honestly shocked to find the bag he had put the Items in still there. He pulled it out and walked back to the lounge room, checking the contents. "No Ring, no Eye, no Puzzle, obviously, but everything else."

Atemu stared at him blankly, then sighed hard and bent over his knees, holding his head in his hands. "Nngh! I can't…!" He clenched his teeth, gripping his hair and tugging hard. "I don't sense them. I don't sense anything specific, it's just…"

They watched him patiently, waiting for him to relax and explain himself. He paused, then let his hands drop back to his knees and looked up again. "Everything's dark. That's what's happening. My darkness is invading my senses, so I can only sense variations of power. I can sense Honda because he's one of my closest companions, and I thought Ishizu was by the door because that was where the Items were."

"So we need to find your focus," said Ishizu, and Atemu nodded.

"The Puzzle isn't enough any more. Now I'm not centred on it, I need something stronger to—" He hesitated, narrowing his eyes in self-disgust. "—to feed off."

Malik made a sudden noise, but Ishizu glanced at him and he cut himself off, grimacing. Honda raised an eyebrow, but Malik just shrugged apologetically and looked back at Atemu.

"That's why the thief is fine when I'm not," Atemu continued quietly. "He's fuelling and feeding off Ryou's dislike and anger."

"You need to charge on anger? Hey, that's easy enough fixed," said Honda, grinning. "Go have a fight with Kaiba."

Atemu snorted despite himself, shaking his head. "I doubt I could tolerate him that much for the next however long I stay here."

"And I doubt it would work," said Ishizu. "The thief is connected to Ryou in several different ways, not the least of which being Ryou may be the other half of his soul. If you were to discover your other half, you would be as strong as you would have been had we gone directly to the Ceremonial Battlefield from the Tablet."

Again, Malik grunted, but Ishizu ignored it, and Honda stared at him blankly. Atemu glanced at her, then slowly sat back, his arms shifting to the sides of the chair until he looked more like a king in his throne than he had any right to, these days.

"You're saying that my senses and therefore my power and body would realign if I were to have contact with my other half," he said bluntly, and Ishizu nodded. He narrowed his eyes again, annoyed. "Not that you know how I would manage that right now. You don't know who that is, do you?"

She silently raised her eyebrows, and Honda frowned, completely lost.

"Do you, Ishizu?" he repeated, and she blinked slowly.

"Everything is as I have told the chosen one," she said quietly. "Yuugi knows all there is to know, beyond your current predicament."

He continued glaring at her for a moment, then smiled thinly, rising to his feet. "Thank you, Ishizu. I would like to say that I appreciate your help," he said softly, and then walked past her to his bedroom, unable to keep himself from slamming the door behind him.

"He's really pissed off at us," observed Malik, and Honda nodded.

"Yeah," he agreed quietly, then blinked and turned to face him head on. "Why?"

Malik cleared his throat, bending his head toward Ishizu, but she just stood up, frowning to herself. "Unfortunately, Hiroto, it is not our place to explain. Please forgive us, but we should take our leave."

"What about Yami?" he asked, worried. "We didn't do anything but prove he's in danger. We've gotta find that other half."

She hesitated, then sighed, closing her eyes. "There is little we can do, at the moment. For now, just let him rest."

* * *

Due to all his years as a student of some of the less reputable schools in his city, Yuugi was no stranger to pain. Physical, mental, spiritual – he knew them all very well, and he knew how to ignore or deal with them. Occasionally, Anzu or Jounouchi would yell at him for being so capable in this area, and Yuugi had quickly learned not to bring the topic up with his other self, but on the whole he was fairly glad for his skills.

But now having been a hospital patient for serious injuries twice in just under a year, Yuugi had decided his skills were somewhat redundant. Pain killing drugs were just that much better.

He ignored Mokuba's snickering, struggling to focus on what the doctors were telling his grandfather and Kaiba as they wheeled him out of his room. Unfortunately, that was made difficult by the fact Kaiba and the doctor were speaking in rapid English and Yuugi was having trouble focussing on anything but the fuzzy feeling in his head.

But he was almost certain they were saying something about readmitting him to Domino Hospital when they got back to Japan, which would be really annoying. Those doctors were evil – they had told his mother he needed to see a psychiatrist! It had taken a month to get her to drop that, and he could only imagine what they would say about all this.

"Ne, Mokuba-kun?" he asked, trying to lean forward, only to get yanked back by the doctor pushing his wheelchair.

He frowned vaguely, and Mokuba smirked as he carefully danced his way around Kaiba to walk beside the chair. "Mm? What's up?"

"Does everyone know I'm getting out today? I haven't had time to call them, and Grandpa said they were all out or asleep whenever he went back to the hotel," he said, his frown deepening at how he was slurring his words. "M'kinda worried. This was only supposed to take three days; it's been four and I haven't heard from them."

"Yeah, they were getting kinda mad at me because it was taking so long," said Mokuba, frowning. "But we didn't tell them, because they were all acting weird and we didn't know what they'd do."

"Hunh?"

"Really weird," he repeated. "When I saw them yesterday, Honda was just sitting in a corner, not saying anything, Jounouchi kept yelling at me and slamming stuff, and Anzu was doing that friendship thing."

"What?"

He laughed, shrugging helplessly as they stopped to wait for the elevator. "You know, the friendship thing! When she starts talking about how everything's gonna be fine, so long as they all calm down and stick together and blah, blah, blah…"

Yuugi blinked twice, then nodded and turned back to staring blankly ahead. "Oh yeah…?"

"Yeah. The two Bakura seemed fine though, and I didn't see Yami," he said, then grinned at Yuugi's puzzled look. "Yami! You know, the other Yuugi!"

"Oh… you're already calling him that?" he asked, blinking. "He's _letting _you call him that?"

"Not so much letting as I don't think he could be bothered arguing," he said, and Yuugi frowned as he was wheeled around to be backed into the elevator. The doctors and others all crowded in around him, but he continued watching Mokuba, so the younger boy grinned. "Come on! It's a great name, and it suits him perfectly!"

"Mm, I just haven't talked to him about it yet," he said slowly. "You should've cleared it with him before putting those documents in."

"Who cares, it was ages ago now!"

Yuugi continued frowning, but said nothing as they continued down to the outpatients' area. He almost fell asleep waiting for all the forms to be completed, and actually did after he had been carefully tucked into the car that would take them to the hotel. They were only staying there the one night so that everyone could pack up their clothes and souvenirs before flying out on the Kaiba Corporation jet Mokuba had managed to convince Kaiba to let the group fly back on.

"C'mon, Yuugi, wake up," murmured Sugoroku, pulling him from sleep with a quick shake of his shoulder. "It'll just take a few minutes to get you upstairs, then you can sleep on a bed, okay?"

"Jounouchi and the others," he mumbled vaguely, barely noticing that it was Kaiba helping him out of the car and down into his wheelchair. "Wanna see 'em."

"They're not here," said Sugoroku. "We didn't tell them you were getting out, so that they would be out when you came back. That way you can get some rest before the flight tomorrow."

"But I wanna see my friends," he mumbled.

"You're not up to it," Kaiba said shortly, and Yuugi grumbled, but the painkillers were taking their toll and he was only barely awake as Sugoroku wheeled him through the hotel lobby. He had to stare when they reached the suite, though. It was hard not to be amazed by the sheer luxury of it, especially when compared to the one they had originally booked.

"Ishizu-san paid," explained Sugoroku. "I think she felt guilty for what happened in the Battlefield."

"It's huge," muttered Yuugi, staring from the kitchenette to the lounge room. "It's as big as our house."

"I think you might be exaggerating a little, Yuugi," he said dryly, and turned to look back at Kaiba and Mokuba. "Thank you for all your help."

"Nah, we don't use our doctors much," said Mokuba, grinning. "Besides, all the information we got from Yami and Bakura's tests'll—"

"That's enough, Mokuba," snapped Kaiba, and Mokuba clamped his jaw shut with a squeak. The two Mutous frowned at them, Yuugi's head tilting forward in as close as he could get to a suspicious glare right now. If Atemu and Bakura really were a magic-evolution of Kaiba Corporation's solid visions, it made a typical amount of sense for Kaiba to use them like scientific research. He scowled absently, forcing his head up again. "Well, thank you anyway. See you at the airport?"

"Yeah, ten o'clock sharp!" said Mokuba, waving as his brother turned back to the door. "Be careful, Yuugi! Later!"

"Until tomorrow, Mokuba-kun, Kaiba-kun," said Yuugi, just before the door shut. He sighed, suddenly running out of the energy required to remain fully coherent. "Those two… I wish they could just…" he mumbled, and Sugoroku sighed, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Ah, now, don't worry about," he said bracingly. "Things will look much better once you've had some sleep."

He nodded wearily, closing his eyes. "I just wish we could be real friends, y'know…? No tricks, no lies…"

"Shh. Come on. We've set everything up for you in the main bedroom, because it's a double bed. But Yami's been using it, so I don't know how clean it'll be," he said, walking around to push Yuugi's chair forward. "But we'll try and make you comfortable. The en suite is attached, but you'll probably have some trouble moving around –"

He grunted at him, almost annoyed but still unable to work up the energy. "Grandpa, the therapy nurse made sure I could get up and around in my wheelchair. I'll be fine on my own."

"Still. Call me if you have any problems at all, alright?"

"Could you get a hold of the other me?" he asked wearily, watching as Sugoroku leaned forward to open the bedroom door. "I'm okay waiting for the others, but I want to see him. I've got a bad feeling, and I want to make sure he's okay."

"You are aware that you're the one that has been and will be in hospital for a while, aren't you?" he teased, smiling. "The other – A— oh, what is it… Yami will be fine, and he's –"

Sugoroku cut off as they moved into the bedroom, shocked into silence. Not having been here long enough to really know what their plans were, he had assumed everyone had gone out for the day, but Atemu was still there, sleeping on top of the sheets with his fingers clenched into the pillow beneath him. Yuugi made a small noise, instinctively shifting as if to get out of his chair, but Sugoroku held him back. Atemu honestly looked as if he were in pain, with beads of sweat on his brow and teeth clenched.

"The other me," murmured Yuugi, before staring up at his grandfather. "You didn't tell me he was hurt!"

"I'm sure he's fine," he whispered. "I'll just go wake him and –"

"No, don't," he said definitely, waving it off. "He's not taking up that much room, and I'm sure I can lie down without bothering him."

"It's the other way around, Yuugi," he said, rolling his eyes, but pushed Yuugi forward regardless. If Atemu woke up, as he was likely to do, then he would just be able to help Yuugi get more comfortable and then explain what—if anything—was wrong with him.

* * *

Last Atemu could remember, he had stumbled into the kitchenette for food, been told Yuugi was being kept an extra day in the hospital, grunted, and gone back to his room for sleep. He didn't remember who had told him about Yuugi or what he had eaten, so much as his head had been pounding and his chest ached for reasons he couldn't understand.

But as he slowly woke up, his eyes still closed but mind working perfectly, he suddenly realised how little pain he could feel. His chest felt fine, and his breathing was steadier than it had been for days. Even his head was perfectly clear of confusion or pain, and he opened his eyes slowly, waiting for something to change. But when what felt like a minute had passed and his headache remained gone, he frowned, stretching his bandaged hand. But there was no pain there, either, as what had been a still sprained wrist that morning now moved smoothly and without complaint.

He slowly lifted it up to his eyes, curling and uncurling his fingers in a slow test, then raised them up further to touch his face, making certain he was solid and not in anyone else's body. He sat up, catching the puzzle before it swung into his stomach, and just stared at nothing, amazed at how alert and healthy he was feeling.

Something had to be wrong. This was too sudden a change, to go from mind-numbing pain to better than fine in only a matter of hours. He closed his eyes, then jerked as the aura of the Millennium Items came into sharp focus. He could feel each one so clearly that he could almost see them. The Ring, hidden around Ryou's neck, under his shirt; the Rod on the dining table where Jounouchi had been playing with it; the Ankh slowly turning over and over in Sugoroku's hands. He could sense them all. He could even sense Sugoroku himself, sitting in the next room.

He could even sense…

"Aibou…" he whispered, twisting around to look behind him. Yuugi was sleeping on the other side of the bed, everything but his foot and arm casts buried under blankets.

Atemu smiled, leaning over to brush his fingers against the bandage over Yuugi's eyebrow. They had taken the stitches out the day before Yuugi had been cut off from everyone, and replaced them with a simple piece of medical tape so Yuugi's body could finish the healing process. But now there were no bloodstains on the tape, and there was more colour in Yuugi's cheeks. He looked better than he had all week.

After a few more moments to let the sight of Yuugi without a heart monitor or the smell of antiseptic sink in, Atemu turned his attention back to himself. He felt better than he had since that failed attempt to heal Yuugi through dark magic, and if not for what it had done to Yuugi, that night had made him feel nothing short of great. He frowned, slowly taking off his bandage as he considered that.

It was really time he figured out exactly what was going on with his newfound solidity.

With all the information he had been given, it was fairly safe to assume that his current form was the product of magic. He was a perfect imitation of a working human body, created and maintained by the darkness he controlled, just like the real solid visions he commanded in his more soul-threatening duels. However, while the real monsters disappeared after certain periods of time and so were more a flow of energy, his body was static, and needed constant energy to support it, just as a real human needs food.

He nodded to himself, sure of his facts as he flung the bandage aside and cracked his knuckles, making certain his hand wasn't going to start hurting again.

The energy he needed to create his body had originally come from Yuugi. But now, according to Ishizu, the upkeep of energy was coming from 'the other half of his soul', which was difficult due to his not having contact with that other half. Yuugi had told him his other half was a human half that had difficulty surviving without its spiritual half.

Atemu's eyebrow twitched as he glanced back at Yuugi. Of course, neither Ishizu or Yuugi had _any _idea who this human half might be.

What an amazing coincidence that Atemu should happen to regain all the strength he had been losing over the past four days at the very moment Yuugi happened to be near him for the first time in four days!

He sighed, pulling his foot up onto the bed to lean his elbow on, gazing at Yuugi wearily. Either they thought he was an idiot, or they had expected him to be so distracted by Yuugi's condition to not notice.

Not that he could really blame them. While he might not understand Yuugi's thoughts, he could sometimes understand the workings of his mind when they referred to himself. He would have done the exact same thing, were their positions reversed.

As much as he hated to think it, the fact of his situation was that Atemu was technically feeding off Yuugi's energy to survive. Had he known that originally, he might have been disgusted with himself and searched for a way back into the puzzle. Of course, on the other hand, now that he had heard a theory as to what the other half of his soul had been through over the past three thousand years, he might have refused to leave because he didn't want Yuugi to suffer any more. Were it anyone else, he probably wouldn't have given a damn, but since it was Yuugi, who made up the majority of his world…

Knowing Yuugi, he probably didn't want Atemu to think these things and therefore decided to keep it from him. That way, any decisions Atemu made would be solely his own.

Of course, that meant there were decisions that did need to be made.

"Scrolls of Thoth," he sighed, pushing his hand up into his hair. He had never been one for decisions. For the most part, he avoided great changes in circumstance until it was shoved in his face that they needed to be made. Occasionally several times over.

The obvious, glaring decision was whether he would do what he was supposed to. Or rather, finish what he started. He was halfway through sealing the darkness forever. All that was left was his complete sacrifice, and the world would never be in danger from the powers of darkness again. He had started this three thousand years ago; it was his duty and about damn time he finished it.

But an embarrassingly teenage part of him demanded to know exactly _why _it was his duty, anyway. Who said he had to die? What would it really accomplish? Humans were still dangerous; they still felt anger and fear and hatred. There would always be war and there would always be those that fought for power. There would probably always be magic – his sacrifice would just be blocking off one part of all that.

He sighed again, letting his eyes wander back over Yuugi. If all truth be known, he didn't really want to go. He liked his friends that were here. Not that he personally did it that often, but he did like hanging out with Jounouchi and Honda. He did enjoy his outings with Anzu, as long as she forgot they were supposed to be dates. He liked talking with Yuugi. He liked watching television and arguing tactics and eating pizza and onion rings and… Hell, he even liked duelling Kaiba!

He didn't want to die.

He hadn't been here long enough.

Atemu frowned, raising his head slightly at the thought. It was an odd thing to think – he had been alive for over three thousand years, it was hardly as if he hadn't had time enough to live.

Hadn't he?

"The other… me…?"

He jerked, his arm falling back to his leg as he looked around at Yuugi. He was just barely awake, smiling as he slowly blinked up at Atemu. "Ah… You're awake."

"That's my line," he said softly. Yuugi's smile widened slightly, and Atemu narrowed his eyes, knowing Yuugi could recognise the affection despite his mood. "How do you feel?"

"Itchy," he murmured, closing his eyes wearily. "I think it's the pain killers. I'm really tired, too."

"Hm… you should try and sleep some more."

"I'm okay," he said, and looked up at him again, concerned. "What about you? You look a little out of it."

"Again, that's my line," He smirked, but Yuugi's brow furrowed, and Atemu shrugged, looking away again. "I'm just thinking, aibou. Past, present and future concerns and all that."

Yuugi gazed at him silently for a moment, then rolled his arm around, bringing his hand up in silent invitation. Atemu smiled without looking and took it, absently rubbing his thumb over Yuugi's fingers.

"I think I know why things went wrong in the Ceremonial Chamber," he said softly, and Yuugi blinked. He lowered his eyes to his free hand, stretching it thoughtlessly. "You remember Ishizu saying we should go straight from the tablet to the chamber? It was best that way because I would be strongest then."

Yuugi nodded, frowning at Atemu's mood. As the spirit of the puzzle, Atemu had gotten into funks often enough, but Yuugi had thought they would stop once he knew who he was and had gotten all his memories back. But this seemed almost as bad as the time right after Doma.

"I think… she was right, we should have gone straight there. But not because of how strong I was or wasn't," he continued quietly. "I think we should have gone straight there because as it was, I had too much time to think. I had those extra twelve hours, and that was all it took for me to second guess everything my new memories were telling me."

"What are you talking about?" murmured Yuugi, and Atemu glanced at him, squeezing his hand for reassurance.

"My memories—the memories I earned by playing the memory world—of Father, the Holy Officers… the gods, my life… I have them all in my mind and heart but…" He hesitated, then met Yuugi's gaze again, furrowing his brow. "I remember a life as Atemu, and I remember thoughts I had as him. I remember specific moments, and I remember specifically thinking certain things, but when I look back and think over them again, I could never honestly say I would think or do the same thing."

Yuugi frowned, but Atemu went on before he could say anything, shaking his head quickly. "It's not just about having changed or grown as a person, so don't suggest it. I just don't think – I look back on those moments and even though I know and remember that I went through them, they aren't _me_. They aren't the thoughts and actions of the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle," he said softly, curling his fist up to his heart. He bit his lip, trying to think of a way to explain it. "If I were to go back and rule Egypt, I know I could do it. I know I could do everything Seto did and so much more, because Egypt was my country. It was my birthright and everything I was born and bred to posses. But I can remember thinking… I remember Atemu knowing that Egypt wasn't his. _He _belonged to _Egypt_. Everything he did was because he was a part of his country. I don't think I could ever think like that. I know it's strange, but I almost feel like—"

"—you're not Atemu?" surmised Yuugi, and he nodded, lowering his gaze back to the bed. Yuugi frowned, rolling his shoulder in a futile attempt to ignore an itch as he thought about it. "It might just be because of the affects of the darkness. I mean, three thousand years is bound to do something to your sense of self."

"You think?" he asked, but Yuugi didn't answer, grimacing instead, and Atemu smiled. "I didn't think so."

Yuugi sighed, rolling his eyes up to the ceiling. "So you think things went wrong in the chamber because, deep down, you didn't think you were Atemu? You didn't think you could go to the afterlife, because it wasn't really _you _that was supposed to?"

"Something like that. At least, subconsciously," he corrected, gesturing to his head. "If I had gone straight from the memory world to the duel, then I wouldn't have had time to register the difference between what I remembered I was and who I felt I was. The rift was created and the shadows did the rest."

"Makes sense," said Yuugi, and Atemu nodded.

They were silent a moment, letting that work through their minds, before Atemu took a sharp breath and turned around to lie down beside Yuugi, folding his arms behind his head. "That then presents me with all sorts of identity issues, you know. Am I really who I think I am, or am I actually the person the magic created me to be?"

Yuugi grinned. "Welcome to my world."

They laughed, and Atemu picked up Yuugi's hand again, lacing their fingers together as he smiled up at the ceiling.

"But in all seriousness, it does present a problem."

"Mm," agreed Yuugi, his smile slipping into a frown. "Since you've had even more time to think about it, and spent this last week being called 'Yami' by the Kaiba brothers and I can only guess what by that our friends—"

"Anything from 'you' to 'Yuugi'," he interjected, clearly resigned to it.

"—the problem would have only gotten worse," finished Yuugi. "But on some level, you're still Atemu, which puts you in the same place, right? So really, then there's no difference."

Atemu hesitated, avoiding Yuugi's gaze by eyeing a small, long-since dried drip of paint on the ceiling. He had gotten particularly aquatinted with that drip over the past week, glaring at it whenever he needed to think things through, but with Yuugi lying right next to him and giving him that look he didn't even know he could do, it was very hard to focus on it.

"Aibou," he said carefully, keeping his gaze fixed upward. "Say I were to… accept the name 'Yami Motou'. Would you have any… qualms?"

"Qualms?" repeated Yuugi, staring at him.

"Would you mind?"

"I understood what you said, I don't get what you mean," he said blankly. "It's a weird name, but you're the one that has to live with it or not."

Atemu winced, chuckling helplessly, then swallowed and wet his lips. "Do you think I… Would you be particularly disappointed if…" He paused again, scowling at his own hesitancy. "Aibou, I… about moving onto the afterlife, I…"

Yuugi blinked, completely lost, before inspiration hit and only his still aching ribs kept him from sitting straight upward. He settled for a flinch and stare, while Atemu coughed to himself and glared at the ceiling.

"It will be somewhat difficult to convince the thief Bakura to come back to Egypt, let alone drag him through the Door," Atemu began again, gesturing at nothing. "And there are certain expenses and risks involved. If this is what happened just over a subconscious thought, you can only imagine what might happen in a year's time after I've had time to truly consider and become used to being 'Yami Motou'."

He couldn't stand it any more. Yuugi winced, rocking himself up to sitting so he could stare down at Atemu, whose eyes slid down to the side instead.

"Of course, there are also risks involved in other courses of action, with darkness having nothing to stop it. Or with no sacrifice, then the darkness has greater access through the Millennium Items. But then, there are _other _evils out there." Atemu closed his eyes on a pretence of deep thought. "And there will still be the Duel Monster World, which could rip open at any time. It's hardly any wonder I had reservations – it's all too much to think about once you start."

Yuugi blinked twice, then looked forward, his cheek twitching slightly in disbelief. Half a year, their lives and souls risked enough times to send a normal person insane, six of his bones and a crumbled tomb… He closed his eyes, struggling to keep himself from having to make the decision between laughing and crying.

"Ne, the other me," he said finally. "I just had a thought."

"Mm? What?"

"Do you have any idea how much leather costs?" he asked, and sensed more than saw Atemu stop and stare. He sighed, scratching the back of his hand in resignation of both his itching and situation. "Do you know how much money we're going to lose buying you a new wardrobe?"

Atemu stared at him blankly for a moment, then smiled, sitting up himself. "Ah, a few extra shifts in the store never hurt anyone."

"And then there's the other stuff. Beds cost heaps."

"I think we'll manage with the one we've got," he said, smirking as he wrapped a careful arm around Yuugi's waist, leaning his chin on Yuugi's shoulder. A very slight warmth spread from the skin that touched Yuugi, and Atemu smiled, soaking it up gratefully. Yuugi fell silent for a second, then leaned a fraction of an inch closer, accepting everything as he continued.

"And I don't know what we're going to do once I finish school," he said, sighing hard. "If my grades are any indication, the only university I'll get into is a private one, and I _know _they'll notice an extra person in the dorms. But we can't afford for me to get a flat and I am _not _going to Domino University."

It took a second, but Atemu clenched his eyes shut, not even trying to hold back his smile any more. Yuugi was talking about university – that was post school. He was inviting Atemu—or rather, Yami, he had to remind himself—to stay longer than the year they had promised. He turned his head into Yuugi's neck, shifting his arm so his tightened hold wouldn't jar Yuugi's injuries, then pulled in a breath and looked up again.

"Ah, well, that's a year away. Do you know how much money I can earn in a year?" He scoffed, meeting Yuugi's gaze from the corner of his eye. "You underestimate my ability to take care of you."

"You're going to get a job?" he asked blankly. "_You_, the other me?"

"Don't joke," he cried, sitting up. "I'm the Duel King – the King of Games! I'll enter tournaments and earn enough money to keep you in leather for life."

"Uh, no. You can have the leather. But you can buy me some good jeans. They're pretty expensive these days."

"Jeans? _Denim_? No, aibou, you are not doing that."

"Hey, you've worn jeans before!"

"Once. And it was entirely your fault and I will never do so again."

"Oh, you so will. Give it a few years, and you will."

Atemu—_Yami_, he reminded himself, amazed at how easy it was starting to come—smiled, nodding patiently. Yuugi was probably right, he might get _Yami _in jeans yet.

After all, they had an entire lifetime to work with.


End file.
